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PICTORIAL 



< 



MODERN HISTORY, 



THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS 
TO THE PRESENT TIME. 







BY JOHN TEOST, LL.D. 

PROFESSOR OF BELLES LETTRES IN THE HIGH SCHOOL OF PHILADELmiA. 



PHILADELPHIA : 
CHARLES J. GILLIS. 

18 46. 




Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by 

JOHN FROST, 

In the office of the Clerk of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern Disirict 

of Pennsylvania. 






STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON AND CO. 

PHTLADELPHIA. 
PRINTED BY T. K. AND P. G. COLLINS. 




To condense the leading events of modern history into the 
space afforded in the following pages has been by no means an 
easy task. As history advances from antiquity to the Middle Ages, 
and from the Middle Ages to modern times, the affairs of nations 
continually become more and more complicated and extensive, 
until the multitude of characters and events, which present them- 
selves to notice, completely bewilder the mind. Hence the choice 
of important points on which the reader's attention should be fixed 
requires a great deal of care and reflection. It has been the 
author's aim to acquit himself in this respect in as faithful a 
manner as his ability and means permitted. He has endeavoured 
to present the subject in broad masses, avoiding minute details, 

^2 V 



vi PREFACE. 

and bringing into strong relief the men and things that have 
exerted the strongest influence on the grand current of human 
affairs. The divisions of the subject are few, and the narrative 
as simple and direct as so extensive a plan would by any means 
permit. Leading characters and events are dwelt upon according 
to the author's estimate of their relative importance, and others 
are necessarily passed over with, comparatively, slight notice. But 
little space has been afforded to the history of our own country, 
from the conviction that this course would be most acceptable to 
intelligent readers, familiar as they are with all the great events 
of American history. 

It will be perceived by the references to authorities, which occur 
in the work, that the author has generally relied on the most 
recent and approved for his facts. It is incumbent on him, in 
taking leave of his task, to express his obligations to the great 
living writers of whose labours he has freely availed himself; and 
to the artists and literary friends who have so kindly aided 
him in the prosecution of the work. In conclusion, he trusts that 
this Pictorial History may in some degree contribute to the more 
general diffusion of a taste for history and the fine arts. 





Age of Charles the Fifth 



CHAPTER I. 



Page 13 



Age of Elizabeth 



CHAPTER II. 



49 



CHAPTER III. 

From the Time of Elizabeth to the Commencement of the Thirty Years' War ... 70 



CHAPTER IV. 



The Thirty Years' War 



86 



CHAPTER V. 



The English Revolution 



113 



CHAPTER VI. 



The Commonwealth of England 



125 



CHAPTER VII. 

Continental Europe in the Times of Louis the Fourteenth 



143 



viii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Great Britain from the Death of Cromwell to the Revolution of 1688 185 

CHAPTER IX. 

Great Britain, from the Revolution of 1688 to the Death of Queen Anne .... 197 

CHAPTER X. 

Eastern Europe and the North 201 

CHAPTER XI. 

Europe, from the Peace of Utrecht to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle 224 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Seven Years' War 235 

CHAPTER XIH. 
From the Peace of Paris to the French Revolution 253 

CHAPTER XIV. 
The French Revolution 268 

CHAPTER XV. 
The Consulate and the Empire 328 

CHAPTER XVI. 
History of Europe sincb the Restoration of the Bourbons 346 

CHAPTER XVII. 
History of Colonization 351 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
The United States ' 358 

CHAPTER XIX. 
India and China ^66 




TITLEPA.OE 
VIGNETTE 

T. HEA.D PIECE TO PKEFAOE . . 

VI. TAILPIECE 

VII. HEAD PIECE TO CONTESTS 

IX. HEAD PIECE TO ILLUSTRATIONS. 

13. HEAD PIECE ...... 

15.L0UISSI. 

16. LOUIS SI. ENTEBINO BHEIMS 

17. JOHN THE FEARLESS 
21.HENRYVIII. . 
23. PREACHINa OP MARTIN LUTHKR 

2 6. BATTLE OP MARIQNANO 
29. PIELD OF THE CLOTH OP GOLD . 
32. FRANCIS I. 
34. ANNA BOLEYN ..... 

3 7. DEATHOPDAVINOI . 
39. CHARLES V. ENTERING AVITTENBEBG 
41. DEFENCE OF METZ .... 

44. BRADOATE PALACE . . ' . 

46. VENETIAN SENATOR 

4S. TAILPIECE 

49. HEAD PIECE ..... 

49. ORNAMENTAL LETTER 

52. SISOE OP CALAIS .... 

57. QUEEN Mary's tower 

60. queen ELIZABETH. 

65. ENTRY OF HENRY IV. INTO PARIS 

66. QUEEN ELIZABETH AT TILBURY 

67. EARL OF ESSES ..... 

68. EARL OF ESSEX LED TO EXECUTION 

69. TAILPIECE 

70. HEAD PIECE ....... 

70. ORNAMENTAL LETTER . 

73. DEATH OF HESR7 IV. 

79. ASSASSINATION OP DEMETRIUS 

83.JAMESI.. 

84. RALEIGH 

85. TAILPIECE 

Vol. III. 2 



"W . C R O O M E 
CHEVALIER 



O. T. DEVEBEUX 
R A F F E T 



HARVEY 

VICTOR ADAM 

B A F F E T 
HARVEY 
VICTOB ADAM 
VECELLIO . 
VICTOR ADAM 
GILBERT. 

CHEVALIER 



VICTOR ADAM 
GILBERT . 



HARBISON . 
H A B V E Y . 



CHEVALIER 



HARVEY 



VICTOR ADAM 
O I L n E RT . 



HARVEY 



hiiLiiavi-rs. 
a. T. DEVEBEUX. 



N. B. DEVERSUX. 
G. T. DEVEREUX. 



H. BRICHER. 



O. T. DEVEREUX, 



B . F . -TO A I T T . 

6. T. DEVEllECX. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



86. 
86. 
87. 
9 0. 
9 1. 
93. 



99. 


102. 


104. 


105. 


107 


112 


113 


113. 


115. 


116. 


119. 


122. 


124. 


125. 


129. 


130. 


132 


133. 


137 


13 9 


142 


143 


143 


145 


149 


155 


159 


163 


164 


165 


168 


169 


172 


175 


177 


179 


182 


185 


185 


186 


187 


193 


19 5 


196 



PBA-GTJE. 

ORNAMENTAL LETTER. 

COnNT THORN ..... 

ERNEST OP MANSFELD 

FERDINANDII. . 

ASSASSINATION OP MARSHAL d'an 

ORE. 
CHRISTIAN OF DENMARK ENTERING 

"WO LFE N B tTTTB L .... 

■TO- A LLB NS TE IN DISMISSED 

TILLY MORTALLY WOUNDED 

DEATH OP GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 

MONUMENT TO GUSTAVUS ADOLPHU 

"WALLENSTEIN 

TAILPIECE 

CHARLES I. . 

ORNAMENTAL LETTER 

COSTUME OF A PURITAN 

"TO'ENT'WORTH ..... 

PYM ........ 

MONUMENT OF NASEBY FIELD. 

TAILPIECE. 

CROM^WELL 

BOSCOBEL HOUSE .... 

IBETON 

COSTUME OP A CUIRASSIER 

CROMWELL EXPELLING THE PARLIA 

ME NT ...... 

CROMWELL REFUSING THE CROWN 

TURENNE. 

TAILPIECE. 

LOniSXIV. 

ORNAMENTAL LETTER 

BATTLE OP ROCBOY 

CROMWELL RECEIVING MAZARIn' 

LETTER 
PASSAGE OP THE RHINE 
BOMBARDMENT OP ALGIERS . 
TOURVILLE's VICTORY NEABDIEPP 
ORNAMENTAL LETTER 
DUEE OP ANJOU PBOOLAIMED KIN 

OPSPAIN. 
ORNAMENTAL LETTER 
BATTLE OP FRIEDLINGEN 
ORNAMENTAL LETTER 

BATTLE OP DENAIW .... 
ORNAMENTAL LETTER 

SIEGE OF BRISACH .... 
ORNAMENTAL LETTER, 
CHAPTER HEAD ..... 
ORNAMENTAL LETTER 
SOLDIER OP TRAINED BANDS 
RESTORATION OF CHARLES II. 
THE DUTCH DESTROYING BRITIS 

TOWNS. 
EXECUTION OP AROYLE 
COBONATION CHAIR 



»esi;iiers. 
G. T. DEVBBEnX 
PFEIPFBB . 



VICTOR ADAM 



Engraver:. 

a. T. DEVBRKUS. 



PFEIFFER 



AFTER VAN 
PFEIPFBB 
O I L B E BT . 



W. C BOO M E 
WILLIAMS 
Q I LB E BT 



WILLIAMS 



PFEIFFER 

B A F F E T 



VICTOR ADAM 



DAVID. 
VICTOR ADA! 



P F E IPPB R 



VICTOR ADAM 
PFEIFFER 
VICTOR ADAM 
PFEIFFER 
VICTOB ADAM 
PFEIFFER 
VICTOB ADAM 
PFHIFFEB 
■WILLIAMS 



HARVEY 



S. F. BAKER. 

G. T. DBVEHEUX. 

S. F. BAKER. 

G. T. DEVEREDX 



B. P. -W AITT. 

G. T. DEVEREOX. 

H . B R I C H E R . 

G. T. DEVKRED5:. 



H. BRICHEB. 

G. T. DEVEREUX. 



B RI C H R R. 
T. DEVEREUX. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



197 


19 7 


19 S 


199 


201 


202 


205 


209 


2 14 


2 15 


222 


223 


2 24 


224 


226 


228 


23 1 


233 


234 


23 5 


23 5 


236 


24 1 


24 4 


24S 


2 5 1 


2 5 2 


253 


253 


254 


2 56 


259 


263 


267 


268 


268 


270 


2 77 


279 


:i83 


286 


288 


29 


29 1 


292 


294 


29 8 


299 


300 


302 


303 


304 


307 


309 


3 1 1 


3 1 5 



ARMS OF OREAT BRITAIN 

ORNAMENTAL LETTER 

COSTUME OF QUEEN MARY 

WILLIAMIII. . 

SOBIESKI 

FREDERIC -WILLIAM 

SIEGE OF VIENNA .... 

JOHN CASIMIR RESIGNING 

CHRISTIAN IV. OF DENMARK 

OSENSTEIRN 

CHARLESXII. 

TAILPIECE 

D D K E OF CUMBERLAND . 

ORNAMENTAL LETTER 

PETER THE GREAT .... 

PORTO BELLO MEDAL . 

BATTLE OF OHO TUSITZ . . . 

THE YOUNG PRETENDER 

TAILPIECE. 

HEADPIECE 

ORNAMENTAL LETTER 

DEATH OF ADMIRAL BYNQ 

FREDERIC AT LISSA. . . . . 

PARTING OF FREDERIC AND PRINCE 

HENRY. 
WILLIAM STUART, EARL OF BUTE 
MARIA THERESA .... 
TAILPIECE. 
E'OSOIUSKO 

ORNAMENTAL I, ETTER 
CLKMENTXIV. 
CATHARINEII. . 
JOHNWILKES. 

CATHARINE II. AND HER COUNCIL 
BRITISH COSTUMES .... 
HEADPIECE 
ORNAMENTAL LETTER 
LODISXVI. 
REPLY OF MIRABEAU 
CAPTURE OF THE BASTILE 
MARIE ANTOINETTE 
JACOBINCLUB 
MIRABEAU 

DUKE OF BRUNS-WICE. 
DUMOURIEZ. 

LOUIS GOING TO THE ASSEMBLY 
ROBESPIERRE 
DEATH OF LOUIS 2VI. 
CHARETTE 

MARAT. . 

ROOHEJAQUELIN . 

DUKE OF YORK ..... 

TRIALOFDANTON. 

TALLIEN 

Robespierre's trial 

BARRAS. 

AROOLA . . . . . 



Designers. 
■WILLIAMS 



G. T. DEVEREUX. 



S. F. BAKER 
ADOLPH MENZai 
Q. T. DEVEREUS 
GILBERT . 
PFEIFFER 



■W. C BOO M E 
PFEIFFER - 
■WILLIAMS . 

■W . C ROO M E 
HARRISON , 
ADOLPH MENZ: 
ENGLISH PRINT. 
ADOLPH MENZEL 
HARVEY . 



E L 



ADOLPH MENZEL 



HARVEY. . . 
ADOLPH MENZEL 

■W. O ROOM E 

■WILLIAMS . 

ADOLPH MENZEL 
ENGLISH PRINT 
ADOLPH MENZEL 
HARRISON 
CHEVALIER 
(( 

R A F F E T 



■WILLIAMS 



R A F F E T 



■WILLIAMS 

R A F F E T 
ENGLISH PRINT 
FRENCH PRINT 
■WILLIAMS 
R AFFE T . 



H. B B I H E R. 
S. F. B A K K B. 
Q . T. DEVEHEUX. 



S . F. BAKER. 

H B R I C U F R. 

3. F . BAKER 

G. T. DEVEKEDX. 

S. F. BAKER. 

J . D O ^W N E S . 

O. T. DEVEREUX. 



H . B BIC n K R. 



S . F. B AK E H. 

Q. T. DEVEREDX. 



8. F . BAKER. 

O. T. DEVEREDX. 



S. F. BAKER. 

Q. T. DEVEREDX. 



S . F , BAKER. 



H . n B 1 C H E B . 



G. T. DEVEREUX. 



H. BBICHBR. 

O. T. DF. VEBEDX. 



J . D O ■W N E S. 



B. F. W AITT. 

O. T. DEVEBEUX. 



B. F . ■W A I TT. 
(c tt 

J . D O "W N E S . 

Q. T. DEVEREaX. 

S . F . B .»L K E B . 

G. T. DEVEREDS. 



N. B. DFVEHEOX. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



390. 
323. 
3 2 5. 
3 2 7. 
323. 
3 2 8. 
3 29. 

33 4. 
33S. 

34 0. 
3 4 5. 
346. 



3 57. 
3 58. 
36 1. 

366. 



BONAPARTE S ARRIVAL IN KGTPT 

NAPOLEON AT THE PYRAMIDS. 

BATTLE OF THE NILE 

M H B A T 

NAPOLEON . . . . , . 

ORNAMENTAL LETTER 

PASSAGE OP THE ALPS 

BATTLE OF A TJ S T E R L I T Z 

WELLINGTON 

MASSENA. 

NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA . 

VICTORIA. 

ORNAMENTAL LETTER 

LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS 

ORNAMENTAL LETTER 

GENERAL TV O L F E .... 

"WASHINGTON 

ACKNOWLEDGMEST OF AMERICAN IN 

DEPENDENCE 
TIPPOOSAHIB 
ORNAMENTAL LETTER 
TAILPIECE . . , . 



1)6,1!; ,ers 
H. V E R N E T 

H AR V B T . 

R A F F E T 

H. V E RN ET 



HARBISON 

H. V E R N B T 



GILBERT 



W. C R O O M E 

G. T. DEVEREUX 

W . ROOM E . 



VICTOR ADAM 
K A F F B T 



ErisravT". 

G. T. DEVEREDX 

J. D O "W N E S. 

S. F . BASER 

G. T. DEVEREDX". 

N. B. DEVEREUX. 

S . P. BAKER. 

a. T. DEVEREUy. 



S. F. B AX E R. 

G . T . D S V E R E U .V . 

S . F. BAKER. 



G. T. DEVEREUX. 





■I eijaxU^ tlje iFifi^. 

DURING the period of the Middle Ages, as 
well as in ancient times, the various parts of the 
world were comparatively isolated from each 
other. This observation not only applies to 
countries widely separated, but even to conti- 
guous kingdoms. The intercourse of com- 
merce and diplomacy was small and often 
interrupted. Communication by land or water 
was slow and difficult ; and military or naval expeditions were frequently 
defeated by causes which in modern times do not exist. But the invention 
of gunpowder, the mariner's compass, and the art of printing, were destined to 
effect great and important changes in the whole aspect of human affairs, and in 
the latter part of the fifteenth century these causes were already beginning to 
operate. 

The fresh impulse given to commercial intercourse, the wider diffusion of 
books and learning, and the new system of military operations, could not fail 
to produce striking changes in political affairs ; and accordingly we shall soon 
see the different nations of Europe united in a common system of diplomacy, 
ever vigilant, and jealous of mutual encroachments, and as remarkable for their 
attention to the movements of each other, and their ready interference in foreign 
politics, as they had formerly been for their total neglect of every thing which 



B 



(13) 



14 AGEOFCHARLESTHEFIFTH. 

did not compel their attention by the immediate pressure of danger or hope 
of aggrandizement. 

There is no circumstance which more strikingly distinguishes our own times 
from those which preceded them, than the remarkable change which has taken 
place in the modes of warfare since the discovery and general use of gunpowder. 

No one who reads the history of ancient times and of the middle ages can 
fail to be struck with the sanguinary and destructive nature of the contests 
which then took place between opposing armies. This could not be otherwise 
when the hostile encounter was to be maintained man to man, with lance and 
pike, sword and battle-axe. Individual force, dexterity, and prowess decided 
the battle ; but not till the field was strewed with the bodies of immense 
numbers of the combatants. But modern nations decide their disputes with 
the cannon and the musket ; the soldier, having no longer his adversary hand 
to hand, leaves it to chance to decide whether his ball shall bring an enemy to 
the earth or waste its strength in air. War has become almost an exact science ; 
the soldier has degenerated into a machine, employed by the calculations of his 
officer ; and the fate of a battle depends upon the genius and judgment of the 
generals. Under the old system, a man encased in armour, and mounted on a 
mailed steed, was superior to a whole troop of common soldiers, who marched 
on foot and were badly armed ; but this new system of war, under which the 
most craven-hearted retainer may with his firelock bring down the bravest 
leader at a distance, has sapped the foundations of chivalry, and gradually 
annihilated it. For a long time the nobility contended against the use of 
weapons which they characterized as dishonourable and degrading ; but these 
weapons finally came into general use, and the man at arms was compelled to own 
the superiority of the engineer, in deciding the destiny of kings and nations. The 
battle-axe and the lance, the ponderous helmet and the heavy iron cuirass, are 
now laid aside, and modern warriors look on them with wonder, as they read 
how the knights of old bore them as readily as their own limbs, supporting the 
weight with ease while they governed their horses, aimed the unerring arrow, 
or wielded the sword and the shield. 

About the commencement of the period of transition, while those who bore 
firearms formed but a small part of the troops, and mailed cavalry still composed 
the strength of the army, Louis XI. ascended the throne of France. Of this 
prince it has been said that " every day he would suddenly strike out many 
singularities. Strange to say, with all his drivelling and petty scrupulosity of 
devotion, the instinct of novelty was quick within him. The restlessness of 
the modern spirit was already his, inspiring his fearful order to go on, (where? 
no matter,) to be ever going on, trampling all under his feet, walking, if need 
be, over the bones of his father." He was the real founder of the policy since 
erroneously attributed to Machiavel. His character is one of the most com- 
plicated in history. At the expense of his peace and his reputation, his policy 
attained the end which he proposed, the union of the interior force of France 
and the elevation of her power to a height formidable to the rest of Europe. 
His whole life was a mixture of contradictions and crimes. He possessed 



LOUIS XL 



15 




almost absolute power, and was withal undignified ; by humbling the great 
he became popular, yet possessed no generosity ; zealous for the administration 

of justice, he was systematically unjust ; he 
lived in open violation of morality, yet was 
an abject slave to superstition ; he tyrannized 
over his subjects, and resigned himself 
wholly to his physicians : in short, his whole 
life was devoted to strengthening the mo- 
narchy and rendering royalty disgraceful. 
Such was the prince wnth whose accession 
we commence our narrative of the history 
of modern times. 

So great was his anxiety to reign that 
he revolted before the death of his father. 
Charles marched against him, and as he 
drew near to Lyons, Louis was deserted by 
his professed friends. Louis himself gives 
us to know that it was not the will to resist 
that was wanting, for he writes, " If God or 
fortune had granted me half the number of 
^'^^'^' ^^- men at arms the king my father has, his 

army should not have had the trouble of coming ; I would have marched from 
Lyons to give it battle." An ambuscade was laid for him by his enemies ; 
but he sent all his officers to hunt in one direction, while he himself escaped 
by another to the court of Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, who was at 
enmity with his father, and who protected him. While there, he was ever 
engaged in study, was humble and quiet, observing every thing, and noting 
carefully the weaknesses of the ducal house. Already had he formed the 
plan of his life. Immediately after the death of his father secured to him the 
throne, he found himself isolated. He pardoned his former enemies ; but 
failed to secure their friendship ; he could place no dependence on his friends. 
The great were his natural enemies ; his humbler subjects would become so, 
as soon as he attempted to exact money from them. The counsellors of the 
Duke of Burgundy supposed that in crowning their young king, they were giving 
themselves authority over a kingdom. They w^ere soon taught their mistake. 
The aged Philip escorted the king to Rheims, where the coronation was to take 
place, at the head of an immense army of followers. The entry of the sove- 
reign into that city seemed like a triumph of his vassal. Louis, who hated all 
pomp, was conspicuous for his humility alone. The duke appeared like an 
emperor, superbly mounted, and towering above the host of his pages and 
archers on foot ; the king, sorry alike in person and in dress, w^ent first, as if 
to announce the coming of the duke, and seemed to form part of the ceremony 
only to set off by contrast its pomp of pride. Large and powerful draught 
horses, with silver bells loudly jingling at their necks, and adorned with velvet 
housings, embroidered with the duke's arms, led the procession ; and his 



16 



AGE OF CHARLES THE FIFTH. 




LOT3IS SI. ENTaKINU RHEIMS. 



banners floated over a hundred and forty magnificent wagons bearing gold and 
silver plate, money to scatter among the populace, and wine to be drunk at the 
banquet. The Burgundian nobles were hardly visible, buried as they were, 
men and horses, in their rich velvet and jewels. The duke took the first place 
at the coronation, and officiated throughout the ceremony. Louis appeared as 
a man of another world, putting on an appearance of extreme humility, peni- 
tence, and self-denying devotion. But at the moment when the proud Philip 
placed the crown on the head of the humble Louis, France had a king, who 
knew neither Burgundy nor Brittany, neither friend nor enemy, in the pursuit 
of his favourite objects. He was then ready to jeopardize the king for the 
aggrandizement of the kingdom, to play a game in which the stake should be 
the sacrifice of royalty or the diminution of the power of the nobility. Subtle, 
deceitful, unfeeling, and cruel himself, he dismissed all the high-minded 
ministers of his father, and surrounded himself with advisers of a character like 
his own, men drawn from the lowest ranks. 

Louis almost immediately disclosed his intention of reducing the power of 
the nobles, who as speedily entered into an association and took arms to humble 
their oppressor. The count of Charolais, Charles the Bold, took part in this 
league, contrary to the wishes of his father. The death of Philip the Good, 
however, made him Duke of Burgimdy, and his attention was required in that 
duchy. Ever since the time when Philip the Hardy, duke of Burgundy, 



ASSASSINATION OF JOHN THE FEARLESS. 17 




JOHN THE FEARLESS, D tj 2: E OF B U B O U N D T . 



administered the affairs of France as regent for Charles VI., his house had been 
looked upon with an envious eye by the other great crown vassals, \^^aen 
John the Fearless succeeded his father, and began to take measures to secure 
his power to himself, he found his schemes thwarted by the Queen and the 
Duke of Orleans. He scrupled not to have the duke assassinated. In conse- 
quence, the nobles engaged the dauphin in their plans, and John was invited in 
the name of that prince to a conference at the bridge of Montereau on public 
business. He went almost unarmed, and was butchered in the saloon and at 
the very feet of the dauphin, by the royal guards, A. D. 1419. In revenge fof 
John's death, his son, Philip the Good, for a long time took part with the English 
against France. He finally made peace with the French king, Charles VII. 
He then devoted himself wholly to the improvement of his dominions in the 
Low Countries, and during the fifty years the affairs of Burgundy were adminis- 
tered by Philip, that state was more wealthy, prosperous, and tranquil than any 
other in Europe ; and if he had but asserted his independence, he would have 
become more powerful than the King of France himself. His death was greatly 
lamented by his subjects and neighbours, who feared in the new Duke of Bur- 
gundy the rashness, pride, obstinacy, and cruelty which had stained the career 
of the Count of Charolais. Of all, however, Louis XL had most cause to fear 
him, for besides the antipathy which Charles had manifested against Louis, he 
knew the arch politician better than any man in Europe. 

The civil war in France had been ended by a peace, on terms advan- 
tageous to the rebels, which the king had not scrupled to grant, but which he 
never intended to keep. Many whom he had formerly disgraced he now took 
Vol. III. 3 b 2 



18 AGEOFCHARLESTHEFIFTH. 

into favour ; he detached the Dukes of Bourbon and Brittany from the con- 
federacy, and got an assembly of the states to declare those articles of the 
treaty void which were detrimental to his interests. Louis and Charles both 
assembled their forces, and a bloody war was expected, when Louis, who 
would never fight if he could negotiate, agreed to pay the duke thirty-six 
thousand crowns to defray his military expenses, and appointed an interview 
with him at Peronne in Picardy, which Charles possessed. His proposal was 
accepted, and he went thither with but a few domestics, hoping by a show 
of confidence to throw the duke off his guard, and take advantage of the 
friendly feelings which he should inspire. At the same time, as a means of 
forwarding his negotiations, he sent emissaries to Liege, to persuade the 
inhabitants of that city to revolt from the duke. He himself, however, had 
nearly perished by the snare thus artfully laid. The duke at first indeed 
received him with marks of respect, but easily saw his connection with the 
rebellion of the people of Liege, shut him up in the castle of Peronne, posted 
double guards at the gates, and made him feel that he was a prisoner, and at 
the mercy of his vassal. He recovered his liberty only on condition that he 
should march against Liege, and be active in the reduction of a place that had 
revolted at his own request. Liege was reduced, and Louis was suffered to 
depart ; the duke then set fire to the town, and massacred the inhabitants. 
This affair was treated with so much ridicule that all the magpies and jays in 
Paris were taught to cry '< Peronne." 

Executions, wars, and negotiations make up the whole of the reign of 
Louis. By odious measures, he drove noble after noble to rebellion, then 
defeated their conspiracies and seized their dominions. His brother Charles 
was removed by poison ; the constable de St. Pol, his brother-in-law, the 
Count of Armagnac, and the Dukes of Alengon and Nemours, all lost their 
heads on the scaffold. He ignominiously purchased a peace of Edward IV. 
of England, and was constantly engaged in war or negotiation with Charles of 
Burgundy, until the death of that prince, who lost his life and immense treasures 
in an ambitious and unjust attempt upon the liberties of Switzerland. (A. D. 
1477.) Louis considered this a most fortunate event, and endeavoured to 
turn it to the greatest advantage. He seized the larger part of his rival's 
dominions, in defiance of the right of Mary of Burgundy, the daughter of 
Charles, and wife of Maximilian, duke of Austria and emperor of Germany. 
Of all the possessions of the Burgundian dukes, Maximilian could only secure 
possession of Flanders. Louis held firm hold of Burgundy, and thus laid the 
foundation of the bitter hostility between the sovereigns of France and Austria, 
which soon after deluged Europe with blood. In 1481, the extinction of the 
house of Anjou re-annexed the country of Provence to the crown of France, 
and vested in Louis the claims of that house to the throne of Naples, liouis 
did not waste his forces on such a distant object ; but gave his whole attention 
to the acquisition of Burgundy.* 

* Kohlrausch. Russell. Taylor. 



LOUIS XII. 19 

His successor, Charles VIII., however, embarked with improvident pre- 
cipitancy in a contest for the throne of Naples. In 1494, he crossed the Alps, 
and in a short time compelled Rome, Florence, and Naples to submission. 
Frederic II., the king of Naples, fled from his country and took refuge in 
Ischia. As soon, however, as the Italians had recovered from tlieir first alarm, 
they banded together, friends and foes, against the French. The Emperor, the 
Pope, and the King of Aragon, Ferdinand the Catholic, promised their aid, 
and Charles was forced to abandon his conquest as quickly as he had made it. 
From the decisive effect of this confederacy, the sovereigns of Europe learned 
a useful lesson of policy, and first adopted the idea of preserving a balance of 
power by that tacit league, which is understood to be always subsisting, for the 
prevention of the inordinate aggrandizement of any particular state. 

Before Charles VIII. could complete his arrangements for a second invasion 
of Italy, he died, (A. D. 1498,) and was succeeded on the throne of France 
by the Duke of Orleans, Louis XII., who, in addition to his claim on Naples, 
inherited from his grandmother a title to the duchy of Milan. The character 
of Louis suffered a remarkable change on his accession to the throne. He had 
previously been distinguished as a bold soldier, a keen hunter, and a chivalrous 
combatant in the tournaments. At Chateau-neuf, there is still shown a ditch, 
fifteen feet wide, which is called the " king's leap," because on one occasion 
he jumped over it for amusement. Such was the violence of his disposition 
when a child, that, whenever it was necessary that he should be chastised, his 
mother masked the servant appointed to inflict the punishment, to save him from 
the future ferocious vengeance of the young offender. All this malevolence, 
however, vanished, when, at the age of thirty-seven, he ascended the throne. 
Although many affronts had been given him, the first resolution which he 
announced was, that " the King of France would not revenge the injuries of the 
Duke of Orleans." His moderation and good policy obtained for him the 
hearts of his subjects ; and he soon began to turn his attention towards Italy. 
Before undertaking such an extensive conquest, Louis thought it necessary to 
strengthen himself by forming alliances with the states which might aid or retard 
him in its prosecution. He secured the Pope, Alexander VI., to his side, by 
giving to his natural son, Caesar Borgia, the duchy of Valence. The Venetians 
were secured by the promise of Cremona, and the country between the Adda, 
the Oglia, and the Po, if they assisted him against Sforza, duke of Milan. 

Thus strengthened, Louis found little difficulty in overrunning Italy. He 
crossed the Alps, and in a few days was master of Milan and Genoa. Sforza 
became his prisoner, and was held in captivity until his death. Afraid of the 
power of Ferdinand of Aragon, he agreed to divide with him the conquests 
which he should make in a war against Naples, and the Pope, Alexander VI., 
sanctioned the scheme. But this arrangement could not continue. Alexander 
and Ferdinand thought that it would be better to keep Italy for themselves, and 
they therefore united their forces and deprived Louis of his share of the kingdom 
of Naples. 

The page of history is stained with the horrid crimes of Pope Alexander 



20 AGEOFCHARLESTHEFIFTH. 

VI. and his natural son, Caesar Borgia ; everywhere we meet with the details of 
their murders, robberies, profanations, and incests. Alexander was succeeded 
by Julius II., who took advantage of circumstances to effect the ruin of Borgia. 
That prince threw himself upon the generosity of Ferdinand, who treacherously 
imprisoned him. He escaped, however, to the King of Navarre, and ended 
his days on the battle-field in the service of that monarch. 

Anxious to recover that part of his dominions which had been seized by 
Venice, Julius organized a powerful confederacy against that republic. He, 
forming the head of the confederacy, was assisted by Louis, Maximilian, and 
Ferdinand. The united forces of these four great powers soon humbled the 
pride of Venice, and the total ruin of their army at Agnadel, (A. D. 1509,) left 
them wholly without defence. Julius regained his towns in Romania ; the 
Marquis of Mantua seized Asola and Lonato ; the Duke of Ferrara, Le Polesin 
de Rovigo, a great domain between the Tanar and the Adige, of which he had 
long before been deprived by the Venetians. Maximilian seized upon Frioul 
and Istria ; the Venetian garrison was driven out of Trent ; Louis took pos- 
session of all the cities of ancient Venetia ; and Ferdinand annexed all their 
seaports in Apulia to his kingdom of Naples. At this moment, however, the 
mutual jealousies of Louis and Maximilian dissolved the confederacy, and 
Venice, making some timely concessions to the Pope and Ferdinand, soon 
began to recover her supremacy. She even induced Julius to unite with her 
in a design of expelling all foreigners from Italy. This design was the more 
acceptable to the Pope, as he was beginning to entertain many suspicions of the 
valour and ambition of his former allies, the French. 

A confederacy stronger than any that had hitherto existed was formed 
against the French. Henry VIII., who had just ascended the throne of Eng- 
land, was engaged to divert the attention of Louis, by an invasion of his 
dominions on the side of England, while the Pope succeeded in again winning 
the Swiss to his standard. Louis XII., with one great general, Gaston de Foix, 
duke de Nemours, resisted all the efforts of this formidable league with un- 
daunted firmness. The battle of Ravenna, won by the French in 1512, was 
hailed by many as an auspicious omen ; but when Louis heard of it, and of the 
death of Gaston, who fell there covered with wounds, he mournfully answered 
those who came to congratulate him on the victory, " I wish my enemies such 
triumphs." He knew the worth of his general. From that time success 
for several campaigns wavered between the two parties, and the war was 
carried on in Italy, in Picardy, and on the frontiers of Spain, with alternate 
success. Florence and Navarre, the allies of Louis, had been conquered, the 
one by the Medicis and the other by Spain ; and Louis, now left alone to stem 
the torrent of almost universal war, would no doubt have been reduced to the 
greatest distress, had not the death of Julius II., and the election of his succes- 
sor Leo X. to the pontificate, given him some respite. Venice, too, dread- 
ing the growing power of the church, deserted the league, and soon Leo made 
peace with France. His example was followed by Germany, Spain, and Eng- 
land, and at the end of the war, of all the conquests of the French in Italy 



ACCESSION OF CHARLES V. 



21 




HENRY VIII. 



nothing remained but the fortress of Milan and a few inconsiderable towns 
which were dependent upon it.* 

Joanna, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, and heir to the kingdoms 
of Castile and Aragon, of Naples and Sicily, and of the New World, married 
Philip the Handsome, son of Maximilian of Austria, and Mary of Burgundy. 
The fruit of this union was two sons, Charles and Ferdinand ; and the elder 
of these at the age of sixteen inherited from his father, (A. D, 1516,) the 
kingdom of the Netherlands, and from his mother Spain and its colonies. The 
death of his grandfather, the Emperor Maximilian, left him in possession of 
Austria and the other domains of the house of Hapsburg, and the electors 
chose him to fill the vacant throne of the German empire. In this manner 
Charles, the fifth of the empire and the first of Spain, came to the possession 
of greater power than any sovereign of Europe since the days of Charlemagne. 
The first act of Charles, on his accession to the empire, was to convoke a diet 
for the purpose of checking the progress of the new opinions which were daily 
gaining ground in Germany, and which threatened to overturn the religion of 
the state. These were the opinions which had been propagated by Luther 



* Taylor's Manual of Modern History. Pictorial History of France. 



22 AGEOFCHARLESTHEFIFTII. 

and his followers, since the year 1517 ; and as they led to one of the greatest 
revolutions that has ever happened in the history of the world, it will not be 
amiss to consider their origin and progress. 

We have seen the powder of the Popes sensibly declining ; and now, upon 
the accession of some able men to the pontifical throne, the claim of the church 
to temporal power was renewed. This claim was resisted by several men of 
learning ; and the repugnance, already manifested by the mass of the people 
to the grasping policy of the church, was greatly increased by the schism 
which took place at the close of the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth 
centuries. The scandal and inconsistency of two or three Popes reigning at the 
same time, each of whom claimed infallibility, excommunicated the others, and 
then called in the aid of the laity, led men to exercise the right of private judg- 
ment, and to examine with more unscrupulous eyes the abuses which had 
produced such evil fruits. The proceedings of the Councils of Constance 
and Basil served only to increase the disrespect which had already begun to 
manifest itself towards the Roman See. Their ineffectual attempts at reforma- 
tion only made the evils more prominent, and their deposition of rival pontiffs 
taught men that there was a power, hitherto unknown, superior to that of the 
Pope. In this crisis, the disgust of the educated people was increased by the 
profligacy, cruelty, and tyranny of Alexander VI., and the ambition and injus- 
tice of his successor, Julius II. Nor were these vices confined to the papacy. 
The licentious lives of the priests in Italy and Germany, the facility with which 
they obtained pardon for the greatest crimes, their immense wealth, and their 
continual encroachments on the rights of the laity, had given just offence ; and 
the contests of the sovereigns of France and Germany with the Popes had led 
their subjects to ridicule papal pretensions, and to assail with boldness papal 
vices. 

In this state of things, a dispute, trivial in its origin, kindled a flame which 
soon spread over all Europe, destroying in its course the strongholds of tyranny 
and superstition. When Leo X. ascended the papal chair, he found that the 
treasury of the church had been exhausted by the ambitious projects of his 
predecessors, Alexander VI. and Julius II. Liberal in his temper, enterprising 
in his habits, eager for the aggrandizement of the Medicean family, loving 
splendour, pleasure, and magnificence, and desiring to reward men of genius 
wherever they could be found, it was impossible for him to practise the economy 
necessary to recruit the finances, and he consequently made use of every device 
to raise money for the splendid designs which he contemplated and carried on, 
which his ingenuity could suggest. Among these devices, he had recourse to 
an extensive sale of indulgences, a means by which the coffers of the church 
had ofccn before this been filled. By means of these, a person who had com- 
mitted any crime was forgiven, and absolved from the sin and its consequences, 
on his paying to the use of the church a certain sum of money. The right of 
promulgating these indulgences in Germany was granted to the Dominican 
friars, who executed their commission with so little regard to discretion or 
decency, and described the merits of the indulgences in such a blasphemous 



MARTIN LUTHER. 



<f—^ 



<f' — 9 




MARTIN LUTHER PREACHING. 



style of exaggeration, that all men of sense became disgusted, and even the 
ignorant began to call in question the efficacy of indulgences dispensed with 
such freedom by men whose profligacy w^as notorious. The princes and nobles 
of Germany were irritated at seeing their vassals drained of so much wealth in 
order to replenish the treasury and support the lavish expenditures of a profuse 
pontiff, and many of the higher ranks of the clergy viewed with jealousy the 
favour and power thus given to the Dominican monks. 

At this juncture, when the minds of his countrymen were disposed to 
listen to his discourses, Martin Luther first began to call in question the 
efficacy of indulgences, and to declaim against the vicious lives and practices 
v'lf those who had been appointed to sell them. He convinced himself that the 
Bible afforded no countenance to such a practice, and then, having vainly 
sought to procure its suppression from the Archbishop of Magdeburgh, he 
appealed to the consciences of men of letters, by publishing ninety-five theses, 
condemning the sale of indulgences as contrary to reason and Scripture, and 
calling upon the learned to examine and discuss the subject. The interest 



24 AGEOFCHARLESTHEFIFTH. 

which was felt in his doctrines extended itself from the cities into the country 
round. The people started as from a dream, when they heard the tenets of the 
bold friar. Ignorant and neglected by all above them, the common people had 
learned to despise themselves ; but Luther offered himself as their great 
teacher ; offered to submit his own cause to their arbitration. They had long 
been struggling for civil freedom without success, and they had remained 
patient slaves to the priesthood ; they now heard with admiration the doctrines 
of the reformer, and called their neighbours to join them before their huts 
in raising the shout of Christian liberty. From abroad also, many echoes 
responded to the summons of Luther. Zuinglius advocated his opinions in 
Switzerland, and the reform engaged the attention of the most enlightened men 
of letters ; among others, the celebrated Erasmus pointed out many errors in 
the Romish church, though he had not the courage openly to separate himself 
from it. The Dominican party also accepted Luther's challenge, fully believing 
that the slightest exertion of their great power would at once stifle his opposi- 
tion. Leo, too indolent to examine the state of the public mind, and too 
proud to trouble himself much about the opposition of a simple friar, published 
a bull, condemning the theses of Luther as heretical and impious, and excom- 
municating him as an obstinate heretic. (A. D. 1520.) 

The daring reformer, far from being intimidated, appealed to a general 
council, declared open war against the papacy, and having collected from the 
canon law some of the most extravagant propositions relating to the omnipo- 
tence and plenitude of the papal power, as well as the subordination of all 
secular authority to that of the Holy See, he published them with a commen- 
tary, showing their impiety and their evident tendency to the subversion of all 
civil government. He then assembled all the professors and students in the 
University of Wittemberg, and with great pomp, in the presence of an immense 
concourse of spectators, thus publicly burned the volumes of the canon law, 
together with the bull of excommunication. From this time, princes and 
sovereigns warmly espoused the cause of Luther, a cause which placed at 
their disposal the enormous wealth of the clergy, and gave them the mastery 
over more riches than could be obtained by the most sanguinary wars. With 
such remarkable rapidity did the doctrines of the Reformation spread, that 
Luther soon counted princes and entire nations among his disciples. 

John Calvin, another reformer, was a follower of Zuinglius ; he was a native 
of Noyon in Picardy, and afterwards a teacher at Geneva. He first began to 
publish his opinions at Paris in 1532, but being driven thence by persecution, 
he retired to Strasburg, where his talents as a writer and preacher rendered 
him so eminent, that the followers of Zuinglius adopted his name and were 
called Calvinists. 

In 1529, the diet called by the emperor at Spires, attempted to check the 
rapid progress of the new doctrines, by issuing a decree forbidding any innova- 
tion until the meeting of a general council. The followers of Luther protested 
against this decree, and have since that, from this circumstance, been called 
by the general name of Protestants. Soon afterwards they delivered to the 



FRANCIS I. 27 

emperor at Augsburg a confession of faith, by which their professions acquired 
a definite form, and the union which was formed by the princes of their party 
at Smalkalde gave them political importance. 

Protestantism now spread with such astonishing rapidity, that in a very 
short time Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Prussia, Livonia, and half of Germany 
adopted the views of Luther, as set forth in the Confession of Augsburg ; and 
England, Scotland, Holland, and Switzerland embraced the tenets of Zuinglius 
and his pupil Calvin ; while great efforts were made to establish the same doc- 
trines in France, Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia. 

The Romish church, now seriously alarmed, adopted means to end the 
controversy, which only widened the breach and made the evil greater. It was 
proposed to refer the whole matter to a general council, which, after much 
delay, was finally convened at Trent, A. D. 1545. After a session of eighteen 
years, (with some few interruptions,) it, in 1563, finally published its decrees 
and was dissolved. The decrees, however, were instantly rejected by the 
Protestants; and as they contained doctrines calculated to destroy the lawful 
authority of sovereigns and subvert the independence of national churches, 
they were also rejected by many Catholic princes.* 

On his accession to the empire, Charles had resigned the paternal inherit- 
ance in Germany to his brother Ferdinand, wdio, marrying Anne, sister of Louis, 
king of Hungary and Bohemia, soon added both these kingdoms to the domi- 
nions of the house of Austria. Ferdinand, on the death of his brother Charles, 
succeeded him in the empire, and became the founder of the Austrian line of 
emperors, which continued without interruption till 1740, when it ended with 
Charles VL Charles likewise was the founder of a royal house ; from him 
descended the Austrian line of Spanish kings which ended with the death of 
Charles IL, A. D. 1700. By his marriage with the daughter of the King of Por- 
tugal, Charles paved the way for the annexation of that country to his kingdom 
of Spain. 

The increasing strength of these two houses of Austria, which long acted 
in concert, soon began to endanger the balance of power, and to excite the dis- 
trust and jealousy of the sovereign of France. Francis L was a prince of a bold, 
enterprising, and courageous character ; but he did not always regulate his 
actions by prudence, and his chivalric rashness and an undefined sense of 
honour often lost that to him which his valour had won. Immediately on his 
accession to the throne, he determined to recover Milan, and he soon invaded 
Lombardy with a powerful army. He was met at Marignano by the imperialists 
and Swiss under the command of Sforza, the Duke of Milan. The battle con- 
tinued two days, when the Swiss retired in good order, and Francis remained 
master of Milan. An alliance and treaty were concluded with the defeated 
duke, with the Venetians, the Swiss, and Pope Leo X., which seemed to secure 
inalienably to France the duchy of Milan. (1516.) About the same time 
Francis concluded a treaty with Charles, who had not yet succeeded to the 

* Taylor. Rotertson. D'Aubigne. Von MuUer. 



28 A (; E F C H A R L E S T H E F I F T II. 

empire. When he was elected, however, the French king soon saw the neces- 
sity of putting a curb to the growing greatness of the new emperor. 

Another monarch, contemporary with Charles and Francis, was also bound 
by his interest to check the preponderance of the house of Austria. This was 
Henry VIII. of England. After the victory of Bosworth field had given Henry 
VII. complete possession of the throne, he laboured diligently to extend the 
royal authority and increase the commercial prosperity of his kingdom; and, 
on his death in 1509, he left his son in possession of an overflowing treasury, 
of immense resources, and of power sufficient to turn the scale in favour of 
France or of Spain, as he lent his aid to one or the other. Unfortunately for 
him, the celebrated Wolsey now made his appearance, and by his pride, flattery, 
and ambition, perverted the talents of his sovereign, so that he soon spent in 
tournaments and banquets the money left him by his father. Led by his 
crafty minister, he allowed free scope to his passions; and his actions, instead 
of being the result of enlightened policy, were dictated by vanity, resentment, 
or caprice. The welfare of England, as well as his own honour, was sacrificed 
to the vanity and inordinate ambition of the royal favourite. 

Both these monarchs were candidates with Charles for the imperial dignity, 
and when the election was made known, the hostile claims of Charles and 
Francis to Milan, Naples, Navarre, and Burgundy, added to the mortification 
of the French king at the preference shown to his rival, soon brought on a war. 
Though Charles had such extensive possessions, yet the domestic constitutions, 
the intestine troubles of his various kingdoms, and the embarrassed condition 
of his finances, made it extremely difficult for him to provide for the payment 
of his troops, most of them being necessarily mercenaries. On the other hand 
the authority of Francis was almost despotic, his power concentrated, his trea- 
sury full, and his soldiers his own subjects. Both monarchs sought to strengthen 
themselves by alliances. Francis gained the Swiss, the Genoese, and the 
Venetians ; Charles, the Pope. As Henry VIII. was the third prince of the age 
in power and dignity, each of the rivals eagerly sought to attach him to himself. 
Francis was well acquainted with the characters of both Henry and his minister 
Wolsey. He knew that the king was actuated almost solely by vanity and 
resentment ; that the minister was equally rapacious and profuse, ostentatious, 
greedy of adulation, and stimulated by boundless ambition. He had already 
successfully flattered Wolsey with marks of confidence and a pension ; and he 
now solicited a personal interview with Henry near Calais, hoping to be able, 
by familiar conversation, to attach him to his friendship and interest, while he 
gratified the cardinal's vanity, by affording him an opportunity of displaying 
his magnificence in the presence of two courts, and of discovering to the two 
nations his influence over their monarchs. But Charles was equally politic with 
his rival. He knew that he could not prevent this meeting, but he resolved to 
anticipate it, and he therefore landed at Dover on his way from Spain to the 
Low Countries. Henry, charmed with this display of confidence, hastened to 
meet him. He stayed but a little while, yet he managed to give Henry favour- 
able impressions of his character and intentions, and to detach Wolsey from 



FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD. 31 

the interests of Francis by promising him his support on the occurrence of a 
vacancy in the papacy. 

On the day of Charles's departure, Henry went over to Calais with his 
whole court, in order to meet Francis. Their interview was in an open plain 
between Guisnes and Ardres, where the two kings and their attendants dis- 
played their magnificence with such emulation and profuse expense, that tlie 
meeting was called the interview of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Here Henry 
erected a spacious house of wood and canvas, prepared beforehand in London, 
on which, under the figure of an English archer, was inscribed the motto, "He 
prevails whom I favour," alluding to his position as holding the balance of 
power. During the eighteen days that the two courts were together, feats of 
chivalry and parties of gallantry, rather than serious business, occupied their 
attention. After leaving this scene of dissipation, Henry paid a visit to the 
Emperor and Margaret of Savoy at Gravelines, whence they accompanied him 
to Calais. Here Charles completed the favourable impression he had begun 
to make on Henry and his minister, and effaced all the friendship which Francis 
had endeavoured to excite. , 

The war broke out about the same time in Navarre, the Netherlands, and 
Italy. Francis, having invaded and taken possession of Navarre, advanced 
into Spain, where he was defeated, and driven back into his own country, with 
the loss of his conquest. In Italy, the Milanese, disgusted with the insolence 
and exactions of the French troops, arose in arms, and putting themselves 
under the command of Francis Sforza, brother of the late duke, made an attack 
on their oppressors. The treachery of the mother of Francis, who withheld 
from Lautrec, the French commander in Italy, the money necessary to pay his 
troops, led to the loss of Milan and the greater part of the duchy. An effort 
made to recover the city led to the battle of Bicocca, (A. D. 1522,) in which 
the French were totally defeated and forced to abandon nearly the whole of 
their possessions in Italy. Genoa was now compelled to submit. It is said 
that joy at these successes caused the death of Leo, who died in the same year, 
and was succeeded by Adrian VI., a devoted adherent of Charles. He brought 
over the Florentines and Venetians to the side of Charles, and Francis was left 
without an ally in Italy.* * 

The Emperor and Henry VIII. then invaded France on three sides at the 
same time; but their forces were everywhere repelled; and Francis, encouraged 
by this partial success, again attempted the recovery of the Milanese, and 
would probably have succeeded, had not his mother the queen interfered. 
Blinded by passion, this woman induced Francis to treat the Constable of 
Bourbon with such gross injustice that this powerful noble entered into a 
league with the Emperor, and raised the standard of revolt against his sove- 
reign. This for some time delayed the king's march into Italy. In 1525, 
entering that country at the head of a numerous army, he was uniformly suc- 
cessful, until he laid siege to Pavia, a strong city, with a numerous garrison 

* White. Taylor. 



32 



AGE OF C II A R L E S T H E F 1 F T H. 




F R A ■: C I S I. 



under the commana of Leyva, an able officer. Every exertion was now made by 
the imperial generals, among whom the most active was the Constable of Bour- 
bon, to collect a large army. The inactivity of Francis before the walls of 
Pavia, and his imprudence in sending a large detachment to invade Naples, 
left the task apparently easy to them ; and accordingly, as early as the 2d of 
February, they determined to attack the king in his intrenchments. The 
attack was made ; the imperialists were victorious, and Francis was made 
prisoner, and carried in triumph to Madrid. A treaty was soon concluded, in 
which the King of the French agreed to surrender Burgundy to the Emperor, 
and delivered up his tw^ sons as hostages for its performance, (A. D. 1526.) 
Francis considered this treaty as having been obtained by compulsory means, 
and, before its ratification, entered a solemn protest against it, and he was no 
sooner at liberty than he refused to comply with its stipulations. 

In this refusal, Francis was supported by the King of England, who began 
to be alarmed at the increasing power of Charles, and by Pope Clement VII., 
who absolved the king from the obligations of the treaty of Madrid. Besides, 
the states of Burgundy protested against the surrender of their province ; and 
consequently, an alliance was formed, called the Holy League, between the 
Pope, France, England, Switzerland, Florence and Milan, to compel the Emperor 
to give up the sons of the French monarch, and to restore the duchy of Milan 
to Sforza. The operations of this league were but slow and feeble ; and while 
the different states of which it was composed were raising armies and preparing 



L i: A G U E OF THE PROTESTANT PRINCES. 33 

for war, the Constable of Bourbon, who commanded the imperial forces in 
Italy, irritated by the vacillating conduct of the Pope, marched against Rome ; 
and the '< eternal city" was taken by assault and plundered by the soldiers of 
a Catholic monarch. (1527.) Bourbon fell in the assault, and the command 
devolving on the Prince of Orange, he besieged the Pope in his castle of St. 
Angelo, and soon compelled him to yield himself prisoner. 

On receiving the news of the Pope's captivity, Charles ordered prayers to 
be offered up in all the churches of his dominions for his delivery, saying that 
his quarrel was with the temporal sovereign of Rome, and not with the spiritual 
head of the church. He, however, neglected to send the necessary order 
for his liberation, and thus excited the indignation of his allies to such an 
extent that Francis was enabled again to invade Italy and penetrate to the very 
walls of Naples. Here, however, his prosperity ended. The Pope, released 
from captivity, made overtures of conciliation to the Emperor ; the Venetians 
were becoming jealous of the power assumed by France, and Andrew Doria, 
the Genoese admiral, indignant at the slights and wrongs inflicted on himself 
and his country, revolted to the Emperor and turned the scale of war by making 
the imperialists superior at sea. Doria first restored the republic of Genoa, and 
earned for himself the proud title of " the Father of his Country and the Restorer 
of its Liberties," 1528. The treaty of Cambray, which was negotiated by the 
Emperor's aunt and the King's mother, was concluded in 1529, and peace 
was restored between the rival monarchs ; Francis resigning all his pretensions 
to Flanders and Italy. The fair diplomatists, however, left enough unsettled 
to furnish grounds for a future war.* 

Having thus prevailed over Francis, Charles next turned his attention to 
the internal affairs of Germany, and determined at once to crush the Reforma- 
tion ; but the Protestant princes formed a league for their protection at Smal- 
kald, 1530, and asked the aid of the Kings of France and England. Henry 
VIII. was desirous of obtaining a divorce from his w^ife, Catherine of Aragon, 
the Emperor's aunt, and attributing the reluctance of the Pope to grant him a 
divorce to the intrigues of Charles, he entered into the league against him with 
eagerness. Hostilities, however, were prevented, and. Charles was obliged to 
adopt a temporizing policy towards the reformers, in consequence of the pro- 
gress of the Turks on the frontiers of his empire. It required the concentration 
of the whole of his disposable force in Hungary, and he was glad to purchase 
internal peace at the price of some important concessions. Satisfied that he 
could not refuse to the Protestants the free exercise of their religion without a 
war of extermination, he concluded to refer the matter to a general council, 
which he urged the Pope to convoke as soon as possible. The council, how- 
ever, did not meet till 1545. Besides, Charles, who began to despair of 
universal monarchy, w^as anxious to have his brother Ferdinand chosen as his 
successor, with the title of King of the Romans, and he knew that it would be 
impossible to accomplish this end without the assistance of the Protestant 

* Taylor. White. Robertson. 
Vol. m. 5 



34 



AGE OF CHARLES THE FIFTH. 




ANNA BOLEYN. 



princes. The hereditary estates of Austria had been given to Ferdinand when 
his brother was chosen emperor ; he had since acquired by marriage the king- 
dom of Bohemia, and on the death of Louis II., King of Hungary, that country 
also fell to him. Ferdinand thus wuelding three sceptres, and having under 
his authority the whole of southern Germany, was, at the time of his nomination 
to the imperial succession, one of the most powerful princes in Europe. 

Francis, having only concluded the peace of Cambray because he was 
unable to maintain war, sought the earliest opportunity of renewing hostilities, 
and secured tlie friendship of Clement VII. by uniting his son, the Duke of 
Orleans, to Catherine de Medicis, the Pope's niece. He by this act, however, 
lost the friendship of the King of England, for Henry VIII., inflamed by love 
for Anna Boleyn, and enraged by the Pope's refusal to grant him a divorce 
from Catherine of Aragon, no longer kept any terms with the court of Rome, 
or any of her allies. The parliament of England supported their sovereign, 
and passed an act in 1534, abolishing the papal power and authority in Eng- 
land ; and shortly after, another, by which the King of England was declared 
supreme head of the English church, and was invested with all the authority 
which was before exercised by the popes. The Protestant princes of Germany 
also viewed Francis with suspicion, because he persecuted the reformers in his 
kingdom. The friendship of the Pope w^as of no advantage to Francis, for 



EXPEDITION TO ALGIERS. 35 

that dignitary dying in 1534, he was vsucceeded by Paul III., a friend to tlie 
Emperor ; and Francis, thus deprived of his allies, was also deprived of the 
power of disturbing the peace of Europe for some time. 

In the mean time, Charles, having repelled the Turks from Hungary, 
returned to Spain, and in 1535 sailed with a large army for Tunis, where Bar- 
barossa, the dread of all Christians, had fortified himself. There he was com- 
pletely successful, and he returned to Spain crowned with glory. During his 
absence, the Anabaptists, a fanatical sect which had arisen in Germany, had 
seized on the city of Munster, and held it for a time against the troops of the 
bishop. They were finally overcome, their sect suppressed, and their leaders 
executed. It was at this moment (1536) that Francis again revived his Italian 
claims, and with a large army overrun Savoy. Charles, unable to meet Francis 
in the field, challenged him to single combat ; but that wily monarch, affecting 
to treat his rival as his vassal, refused to fight his inferior, and summoned him, 
as Count of Flanders, to appear before the Parliament of Paris ; and on his 
refusal, he was declared to have forfeited his title to the Low Countries to his 
feudal superior. Charles was in the mean time increasing his army, which had 
been disbanded on his return from Africa. He soon succeeded in driving 
the French from Italy, and was then proceeding to invade France, when the 
Pope, alarmed by the ravages of the Turks in Hungary and Southern Italy, 
interfered, and prevailed on the belligerents to conclude a truce for ten years. 
(A. D. 1538.) 

Notwithstanding the religious disputes in Germany, the unwillingness of 
the Pope to call a general council, the revolt of the Flemings, and the success 
of the Turks in Hungary, Charles, in 1541, contrary to the advice of Andrew 
Doria, undertook another expedition to Africa. This expedition sailed for 
Algiers, where he landed and commenced operations against the city. A 
furious storm arose and shattered his fleet, a pestilential disease spread death 
among his soldiers, and the destruction of his stores of provisions menaced 
the remainder with famine. In this condition, overwhelmed with loss and 
disgrace, he was forced to re-embark and return to Europe, his followers 
dispirited, while the courage of his enemies was raised so high that they imme- 
diately began to seek an excuse for a new quarrel. This pretext was not long 
wanting. The imperial governor of Milan, in direct violation of the law of 
nations, seized upon two ambassadors who were on their way from the French 
to the Turkish court, and put them to death. Charles refusing to call the 
murderers to account, Francis declared the truce at an end, and immediately 
invaded the Netherlands. (A. D. 1542.) 

The Emperor now found an ally in the King of England. The principal 
source of enmity between Charles and Henry had been removed by the death 
of Catherine ; and the close alliance between the French and Scotch excited 
the jealousy of the English. Henry, having, with the impetuosity for which he 
is distinguished, introduced the Reformation into England, then became anxious 
that his nephew, the King of Scotland, should follow his example, and renounce 
the authority of the Pope. In order to induce him the more readily to adopt 



36 AGE OF CHARLES THE FIFTH. 

his views, Henry made him the most advantageous offers ; but the influence 
of tlie Scottish clergy and the offers of France prevailing over those of the 
English monarch, Henry, in great fury, proclaimed war against James. In 
the midst of these troubles an event occurred which completely changed 
Henr}''s plans. This was the death of James V. and the accession of his infant 
daughter, Mary, the celebrated Queen of Scots. The idea which now took 
complete possession of the mind of Henry was that of the union of the two 
kingdoms, by uniting his son Edward and the young queen Mary. That, 
however, could only be accomplished by the ruin of the French interest in 
Scotland, and Henry gladly and readily joined in the league against Francis. 

The French monarch, on the other hand, was allied with Denmark and 
Sweden, and his union with the Turkish sultan was drawn closer. An active 
war immediately commenced. The sultan, in person, invaded Hungary, while 
his admiral, Barbarossa, joined the French in their invasion of Italy. The 
united forces laid siege to Nice, and for the first time the world was astonished 
by the sight of Christians and Mohammedans united in one army, and making 
war against another body of the professed followers of the Prince of Peace. 
Francis had not even the consolation of success, in return for the disgrace of 
leaguing with the deadly enemies of all Christian knights ; for he was compelled 
to raise the siege and retire. The war was carried on with various success, in 
Italy, France, Spain, and the Low Countries, for two years ; but the only im- 
portant engagement was that fought at Cerisoles, (A. D. 1544,) in which ten 
thousand imperialists were slain, and the arms of Francis obtained a useless 
victory. This however did not prevent the contemporary invasion of France 
by the Emperor and Henry VIII., the former on the side of Lorraine, and 
the latter through Calais. These two monarchs, however, did not act in con- 
cert, and Francis took the first opportunity of concluding a separate peace with 
Charles at Cressy, (A. D. 1544,) by which they agreed to restore all the con- 
quests which they had respectively made during the war, to unite against the 
Turks, and to suppress every species of reform in their dominions. Henry 
continued the war for some time longer, but without producing any event of 
consequence, and he finally subscribed to the treaty of Cressy. The principal 
motive of Charles for this abrupt conclusion of the war, was his desire to 
humble the Protestant princes. The death of his two powerful contemporaries, 
Francis and Henry, in the same year, (A. D. 1547,) left him at liberty to 
pursue this object unmolested. 

No prince had ever ascended the throne of England with more advantages 
than Henry VIII. We have seen how his power was respected by the great 
rivals of the continent, and his condition was no less happy as to the internal 
state of his kingdom. His title was not disputed ; his treasury was full ; his 
subjects in profound peace, and the vigour and comeliness of his person, his 
polished manners, and his manly dexterity, rendered his accession popular, 
while his proficiency in literature, and his reputation for talents, made his 
character respectable. Every thing seemed to prognosticate a happy and pros- 
perous reign, yet the death of no prince was ever less lamented than that of 



FRANCIS I. 



37 




DEATH OF LEONARDO DA VINCI. 



Henry. He ruled the people with a rod of iron, and drenched the scaffold 
with the best blood in the kingdom. Though a monster in private life, Henry 
affected a great zeal for religion, and by his tyrannical measures he succeeded 
in changing not only the national faith, but in a great measure the spirit of the 
laws of England. He perpetrated the most enormous outrages against the 
first men in the kingdom ; he loaded the people wath oppressive taxes, and 
pillaged them by loans which he never meant to repay. The parliament was 
the prime-minister of his tyrannical administration. It authorized his oppres- 
sive taxes and absolved him from the payment of his debts ; it gave its sanction 
to his most despotic and sanguinary measures, and caused to be executed 
those measures which even he dared not carry out himself. 

Francis was a handsome, talented, and ambitious prince, whose warlike 
achievements, love of learning, and patronage of commerce and the fine arts, 
have gained for him the title of the " Father of Letters," and a high place among 
the heroes of France. He earnestly desired to raise his kingdom to a greater 
degree of wealth, magnificence, and refinement than she had ever before 
enjoyed. He built the palace of Fontainebleau, promoted trade, encouraged 
the arts of industry, and introduced the manufacture of silk into France, by 
bringing silk weavers from Italy, whom he paid very liberally. He founded 
colleges for the study of Greek and Latin ; and spared neither pains nor 
expense to advance the art of printing, which was now making rapid progress. 



38 AGEOFCHARLESTHEFIFTH. 

He maintained at his court the famous family of the Stephens, whose renown as 
the learned printers of Francis I. filled all Europe. But the chief ornament of 
his court was the Italian painter, Leonardo da Vinci, whose great work, " The 
Last Supper," has rendered his name immortal. Francis met with Da Vinci 
at Milan, while celebrations were making for the victory at Marignano. He 
induced him to leave Italy and come to reside with him in France, and often 
came to visit him in his study. He tenderly watched by his bedside during 
his last hours, and his attentions to the dying Florentine form one of the 
brightest incidents in the character of the great French monarch. 

The very form and the first decision of the Council of Trent, which finally 
met in 1545, rendered it impossible for the Protestants to take any part in it. 
The peace of Cressy left them unprotected, and the diet of Worms passed such 
resolutions against them, that they found it necessary to rise in arms for their 
own protection, under Frederick of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse. At 
the very commencement of hostilities. Prince Maurice of Saxony deserted the 
leaguers and joined the Emperor, who concluded a dishonourable peace with 
the Sultan Solyman, and formed an alliance with the Pope, who sent him an 
army of 13,000 men. Thus reinforced, Charles marched in triumph towards 
Upper Germany, levying contributions in the disaffected districts through which 
he passed. In a decisive battle, fought at MiJhlberg, in 1547, the confederates 
were completely defeated, and Frederick of Saxony taken prisoner. The 
elector, who when in prosperity had been too often wanting in resolution and 
fixedness of purpose, now evinced the most firm and heroic courage. He was 
told that the Emperor had sentenced him to death ; but his countenance showed 
no signs of emotion at the news, and he calmly and quietly continued a game 
of chess which he was playing with his fellow-prisoner. This harsh sentence 
was mitigated at the intercession of the Elector of Brandenburgh. The castles 
of Wittenberg and Gotha were surrendered to the Emperor, while the Elector 
of Saxony himself remained a prisoner during the imperial pleasure. Great 
indignation, opposition, and confusion arose in W^ittenberg when it was known 
that it was to be delivered up to the Emperor, although in religious worship it 
was guarantied the free exercise of the Augsburg Confession. They at first 
resolved to defend themselves, but the elector commanded them not to make 
any further resistance, as the Emperor, he assured them, would faithfully keep 
his promise. Accordingly, the Saxon soldiers evacuated the town, as the im- 
perialists entered it, and an interchange of more peaceful and friendly feelings 
soon arose between the camp and the city. 

On the same day that the Emperor entered Wittenberg, his old rival 
Francis I. of France was borne to the tomb, and as if fortune had resolved to 
remove at once from before his path every obstacle to the plans he had formed, 
he was enabled to treacherously entrap and detain in imprisonment the Land- 
grave of Hesse, the only remaining leader of the Protestants. 

All danger from the Protestants being apparently at an end, the Pope 
began to be jealous of the success and the power of Charles, and, fearing that 
the Emperor would use his influence in the council to limit the pontifical 



i| 



THE LANDGRAVE O F HESS E. 



39 




CHABLES V. ENTEKING W I T T 2 N B E K . 



authority, he determined to seek his own private advantage, and to throw every 
possible obstacle into the path of his ally. Charles, however, thinking that all 
opposition was at an end, and that his designs on the liberties of Germany 
might now be carried to any extent, published a code or formula of doctrines, 
which he called the " Interim," because it was to continue in force only until 
tlie meeting of a free general council. This edict was presented to the diet at 
Augsburg, 1548, with the imperial command to conform to it in every particu- 
lar. Both Roman Catholics and Protestants declaimed against such a summary 
mode of settling their disputes, and against the assumption of dictatorial power 
by the Emperor. As the edict was strictly conformable to the tenets of the 
Romish church, the Catholics soon acquiesced in the wishes of Charles, and 
most of the Protestant states were compelled to submit. The free city of Mag- 
deburg alone offered open resistance, and Maurice of Saxony, to whom the 
dominions of the captive Frederick had been given, and w^ho was appointed to 
the command of an imperial army, was sent to reduce it. 

The Landgrave of Hesse was the father-in-law of Prince Maurice, who 
was not only secretly dissatisfied with the conduct of the Emperor in unjustly 
detaining him, but was also fully aware of his ambitious designs, and of the 
consequences to which they might lead in Germany. He accordingly formed 



40 AGEOFCHARLESTHEFIFTH. 

a bold plan for compelling the Emperor to liberate the Landgrave, and to 
establish religious freedom, but thought it better to conceal his projects until 
the most favourable moment for putting them in execution. With this ulterior 
object in view, he proceeded to the siege of Magdeburg, and on the surrender 
of that place, (A. D. 1551,) he succeeded in winning the confidence of the 
garrison and citizens, without giving Charles any reason to suspect his fidelity. 
He next made a treaty with Henry II. of France, the son and successor of 
Francis, and, secure of support among the Protestant states of Germany, and 
of the adherence of the Danish king and the northern states of Europe, at last 
threw off the mask. He published a manifesto, detailing the grievances which 
he required to be redressed, and took the field at the head of an army of 
22,000 men, with the avowed intention of defending the Protestant religion, 
and restoring the liberties of Germany. He took his course towards the south, 
and in every place through which he passed he restored the Lutheran magis- 
trates and clergy. 

The King of France invaded Germany by the way of Lorraine, styling him- 
self " Protector of the liberties of Germany, and its captive princes." It was 
in vain that the Emperor sought to gain time by negotiations ; for Maurice, whom 
nothing could turn from his course, advanced with such speed that Charles 
narrowly escaped being made prisoner at Innspruck, (where he was tlien resid- 
ing,) by a hasty flight in the middle of the night. The Council of Trent was 
tumultuously broken up ; the Protestants took Augsburg, and laid siege to 
Frankfort on the Maine. Henry II., who was no less bold and enterprising 
than his father, entered Lorraine and made himself master of Toul,Verdun, and 
Metz. 

Charles was at length forced to submit, and a treaty was signed at 
Passau, (A. D. 1552,) by which the reformed religion was placed on a secure 
foundation, and the captive princes liberated. Henry of France, however, 
still affected to talk of his zeal for the ancient constitution and liberties 
of the empire ; and as no provisions had been made for him in the treaty of 
Passau, he prepared to defend by force of arms his conquests in Lorraine, 
which he foresaw the Emperor would endeavour to wrest from him. Charles 
directed his first efforts against Metz, the defence of which Henry had com- 
mitted to the gallant Francis of Lorraine, duke of Guise. He collected an 
army from Italy and Hungary, and, though sick and enfeebled, he followed it 
in a litter and commanded it at Metz. The Duke of Guise, however, was no 
ordinary opponent. He infused his own spirit into the garrison. In vain the 
old Emperor advanced to the very trenches to exhort his soldiers ; they could 
not withstand the sallies of the besieged, in which the highest nobility and the 
proudest chivalry of France fought as common soldiers under the banners of 
the Duke of Guise. The winter at length set in ; the imperialists encamped 
in the snow, and great numbers died in their tents. The Emperor had arrived 
before the walls on the last day of October, 1552 ; on the tenth of January 
following he beat a retreat, having in that short time lost not less than forty 
thousand men. The Duke of Guise and his followers proved themselves as 



ABDICATION OF CHARLES V. 43 

generous as brave. They gave nourishment to their enemies, and carried to 
the hospital in the town the wounded and sick that were left in the camp. 

The principles of mutual toleration which were enjoined by the treaty of 
Passau, were formally sanctioned by the Diet of Augsburg; which so incensed 
the Pope, Paul IV., that he became the avowed enemy of the house of Austria, 
and entered into a close alliance with the King of France. The few years 
intervening between this treaty and the abdication of Charles V., formed un- 
doubtedly the most disastrous period in his reign. The war with France lasted 
three years longer, and proved unfavourable to the Emperor, though there were 
no great battles or interesting events by which it may be distinguished in gene- 
ral history. The imperial arms did not prove more successful in Hungary, 
where the Turks still made predatory inroads. Italy was in commotion from 
one extremity to the other ; Sienna openly revolted ; and the Turkish fleet 
ravaged the coast of Naples, (A. D. 1555.) Such was the state of his vast 
empire, when Charles, wearied with the cares of government, broken down by 
illness, and hopeless of realizing his dream of universal dominion, resolved to 
abdicate his crowns. Though a prince of moderate abilities, Charles the Fifth, 
says Taylor,* had reigned with more glory than most European sovereigns. A 
King of France and a Pope had been his captives ; his dominions w^ere more 
extensive than those of Alexander, or of Rome. By his generals, or his 
ministers, he had acquired all the objects which usually excite ambition ; he 
had gained even the distinction of being regarded as the champion of ortho- 
doxy, in an age when toleration was a crime. But the triumph of civilization 
over the system of the middle ages, of w^hich he was at once the last support 
and the last representative, was certain and complete, and he could not resist 
the mortification of finding himself vanquished ; the peace of Passau was to 
him '< the handwriting on the wall ;" it announced that his policy was past and 
his destiny accomplished. The feebleness of old age overtook him at fifty-six; 
harassed by vain repinings, overwhelmed by infirmities, he felt that he could 
no longer appear a hero, and he desired to seem a sage. He became a hermit, 
removed all his diadems from his head, and sank into voluntary obscurity. 
He was, however, sure to be regretted, for he bequeathed to the world his 
successor, the sanguinary Philip, just as Augustus adopted Tiberius. 

Though the Diet of Augsburg had secured toleration to the Protestants, 
yet it did not give them all the advantages which they had a right to expect. 
Many important questions were left undecided, and the Lutherans, wuth strange 
inconsistency, agreed that the Calvinists should not enjoy the benefits of the 
toleration for which they had fought and bled. The reformers were in 
some degree victorious, but the power of the Church of Rome was far from 
being crushed. Several monastic orders w^ere established solely to combat the 
spirit of innovation introduced by the reformers. The society of Jesuits, one 
of the most celebrated of these institutions, was founded in Spain by Ignatius 
Loyola, in 1534, and was sanctioned by the Pope in 1540. Such was the 

* Manual of History. 



44 



AGE OF CHARLES THE FIFTH. 



.Ik' 







rapidity with which this institution spread throughout Christendom, that, at the 
death of the founder in 1556, it had diffused itself through most of the countries 
of Europe, and its missionaries were scattered throughout India, Ethiopia, and 
South America. The object of this association was to support the highest 
assumptions of papacy, to oppose freedom of intellect, and to destroy, if pos- 
sible, the new doctrines which were so rapidly gaining ground. In order to 
accomplish these purposes, they made use of every means, especially the control 
of public opinion. They diffused their principles by missions, the confessional, 
and seminaries established for the purpose of instructing and training youth ; 
in every instance under the entire control of the order. Though at first a strictly 
religious order, they soon began to obtain and exercise political influence. 
The good done by them in the propagation of morality, and in the cultivation 
of various branches of science, was considerable ; but in politics they soon 



LADYJANEGREY. 45 

became formidable, in consequence of their unity, and the secrecy of their 
operations, until at length they excited the jealousy of the Catholic princes, 
who in 1773 obtained a papal bull for the suppression of the order. The 
society was again revived by another bull in 1814. 

The reformation begun in England during the reign of Henry VIII., was 
carried on by Edward VI., who first legally established the Protestant religion 
in his kingdom. His minority, his short reign, and the ambition and quarrels 
of his guardians, prevented it from being fixed on a permanent foundation. 

His death (A. D. 1553) was followed by the tragical episode of Lady Jane 
Grey, the learned, pious, and lovely princess who had been brought up in the 
seclusion of Bradgate palace, where she read Plato and her Bible while her 
gayer friends hunted in the park, and thus gained the religious philosophy 
which supported her in the hour of bitter trial. Placed upon the throne, by the 
unscrupulous ambition of her father-in-law, the Duke of Northumberland, her 
title was too defective to be allowed without completely overturning the laws 
of succession, and after a brief reign of ten days she was dethroned. Subse- 
quent rebellions on her behalf were deemed a sufficient reason by her successor, 
Mary, for bringing both herself and her husband. Lord Guilford Dudley, to 
the block. 

On the accession of Mary, the papal dominion was for a time restored. 
Her marriage with Philip of Spain was concluded against the wishes of her 
subjects, and was always a cause of dissension and disquietude to the nation. 
Throughout the whole of her reign the Protestants were persecuted with the 
greatest rigour. It is said that the number of persons whom she condemned 
and ordered to be burned as heretics, amounted to three hundred ; among 
whom were the venerable Archbishop Cranmer, and Bishops Latimer, Hooper, 
and Ridley. Her cruel persecutions, however, did not increase the love of her 
subjects for the yoke of Rome, and on her death, in 1558, her sister and suc- 
cessor restored and firmly secured the Protestant religion.* 

In the course of the wars between Charles and Francis, Venice, which, 
at the beginning of the sixteenth century, had appeared so formidable that 
almost all the potentates of Europe united in a confederacy for its destruction, 
declined from its ancient power and splendour. Yet the government, that 
stern and imposing edifice of antiquity, seemed to have suffered no dilapida- 
tion. In the severity and oppression exercised over its subjects by the 
oligarchy, no decay of the Venetian power was perceptible ; the whole of the 
period we have contemplated was undistinguished by any internal vicissitudes. 
In the words of the eloquent historian of Italy,! it suffered no dilapidation from 
the shock of centuries. Frowning over the gay and splendid bosom of the 
Adriatic, it stood like a feudal donjon ; its massive grandeur deepened in 
gloom, not impaired by the ravages of time ; its form alike unchanged and 
unchangeable. But if this fabric of real despotism, which had been erected 
for the pretended security of republican freedom, was not even menaced by 

* Taylor. Wliite. f Proctor. 



46 



AGE OF CHARLES THE FIFTH. 



'SC 




VENI;TIAN SENA.TOK OF THE TIMES OF CHARLES V. 



domestic assaults, its outworks were no longer proof against foreign hostility. 
They had not only lost a great part of their territories in the war which grew 
out of the league of Cambray, but the progress of maritime discovery diverted 
the commerce of the world, which they had engrossed, into other channels. 
Her wise senators had foreseen this result, and had long and earnestly endea- 
voured to prevent it, but their efforts w^ere of no avail ; the sources of her wealth 
and prosperity were exhausted, while long wars aggravated her losses, and 
consumed her treasures. Lisbon became almost the sole mart for the precious 
commodities of the East, and Venice, from having engrossed the whole, found 
herself deprived of nearly every share in it. Her senate wisely laboured to 
veil the exhaustion of her resources, and the decline of her strength, under the 
appearance of moderation and caution, and as decay in states is not readily 
observed by their neighbours, except in seasons of rash exertions, the Venetians 
were enabled to command the respect once paid to their grandeur for two cen- 
turies after its real extinction. 

Cosmo de Medici and his son Lorenzo having acquired great authority in 
Florence by their abilities and beneficence, their ambitious descendants resolved 
to take advantage of it for paving the way to a usurpation of the sovereignty. 
The views of Alexander de Medici on this subject met with the co-operation 
of the Emperor Charles, who not only placed him at the head of the republic. 



THE REFORMATION. 47 

but added the weight and credit of the empire to the popularity already enjoyed 
by the family. His successor, the able politician Cosmo the Great, knew so 
well how to avail himself of these, that he was enabled to establish his supreme 
authority over the ruins of the ancient republican constitution, and to transmit 
to his descendants, with the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany, the territories, 
which had belonged to the three republics of Florence, Pisa, and Sienna. 

Of all the changes which took place in Europe during the age of Charles 
v., however, the most obvious and most important are those in the papal court. 
In the preceding volume, we have traced the rise of that spiritual jurisdiction 
claimed by the Roman pontiffs as the vicars of the Saviour, and have witnessed 
the progress of their temporal authority. Philosophy and science only had 
tended to circumscribe their authority, and these advanced so slowly and so 
feebly as scarcely to produce any effect upon the mighty edifice of the Church 
of Rome. But Luther, as we have seen, attacked the papal supremacy with 
different weapons, and with an impetuosity which combined with other circum- 
stances to insure success. The kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden, England, and 
Scotland, and one half of Germany, threw off their allegiance to the Pope, 
abolished his jurisdiction within their territories, and gave a legal sanction to 
systems of doctrines and modes of discipline not only independent of his power, 
but hostile to it. It penetrated into France, and produced a war which was 
long and doubtfully continued. The sentiments of the people of the Catholic 
countries of Germany were far from being unanimous in favour of Catholicism, 
and the tenets of Protestantism were secretly harboured in Spain and even in 
Italy, St. Peter's patrimony. The papal pretensions to infallibility were every- 
where scoffed at by the learned and the able, and the most tyrannical exertion 
of the civil powers, the utmost vigilance of the priesthood, and all the rigour 
of the Inquisition, scarcely sufficed to restrain their vehement opposition. 

These great defections struck a fatal blow at the grandeur and power of 
the papal see. The future incumbents of the pontifical chair found their terri- 
tories abridged, their revenues diminished, and the field of operation of their 
servants cut off. Veneration for the dignity of the church, which had ever been 
greatest at the most remote distance from its seat of government, could not but 
fall, when it was confined to the more immediate vicinity of those who were 
enabled to see by what artifices its authority was upheld. Henceforth, too, 
the popes found themselves obliged to adopt a milder system of jurisdiction. 
They knew that their subjects were perpetually incited to revolt by the example 
of their neighbours, that their faith was not now explicit, nor their submission 
unreserved, and since the days of Luther they have substituted a rule by address 
and management, for their former authoritative government. The bold acts 
and decisions which characterized a Gregory VII., would now be considered 
absurd, and the popes of our own times, in the construction of their bulls and 
their edicts, find themselves obliged to lay aside the tone which made the 
princes of old to tremble and turn pale, and to assume a style which regarcjs 
both the notions of their adherents and the prejudices of their enemies. They 
claim no new powers ; they do not insist obstinately upon old prerogatives ; 



48 



AGE OF CHARLES THE FIFTH. 



their policy is timid, cautious, and circumspect ; they are no longer the movers 
and directors in every great enterprise ; at the head of great alliances, or 
arbiters in the affairs of Christendom. Rome, from being the centre of political 
intrigue and negotiation, has become merely the seat of one of the weakest of 
the petty princes of Italy. 

The Reformation, however, contributed to produce other effects on the 
Church of Rome. By its influence, the Roman Catholic clergy, previously infa- 
mous for ignorance, and for irregularity and dissoluteness of manners, have 
been stimulated to acquire the high character for eminence in literature and 
science, and purity of conduct, which so many of them now enjoy. Thus the 
desire of equalling the reformers in those talents which procured them respect, 
and of acquiring the knowledge necessary to defend their tenets from the 
attacks of their enemies, has exalted the character of the inferior clergy, and 
extended to the sovereign pontiffs themselves. During two centuries, no pope 
who may be compared with Alexander VI. for gaiety and licentiousness has 
disgraced the chair of St. Peter ; but throughout this long succession, a won- 
derful decorum of conduct, compared with that of preceding ages, is observable. 
Many, especially among the pontiffs of the present century, have been conspi- 
cuous for all the virtues becoming their high station ; and by their humanity, 
their love of literature, and their moderation, have made some atonement to 
mankind for the crimes of their predecessors.* 

* Robertson. 





CHAPTER II, 



g ? © f %S,U}uhstf;, 




EFORE embarking from the Low Countries for Spain, 
Charles V. had had the pleasure of taking a considerable 
step towards a peace with France. He had earnestly 
desired that his son's administration should commence in 
quietness, and that he himself might have the glory, when re- 
nouncing the world, of restoring to Europe that tranquillity 
which had so long been banished from it by his restless 
ambition. By the advice of the wise Montmorency, Henry II. broke the rash 
engagements into which he had entered with the Pope, and signed the treaty 
of Vaucelles, which provided for a cessation of arms for five years, and left in 
Henry's hands, for that period, the territories which he had conquered from 
the empire. Pope Paul IV. was filled with astonishment and rage at this 
treaty ; but he concealed both his fear and his anger, and offered his media- 
tion, as the common father of Christendom, in order to bring about a permanent 
peace. Under this pretext, he despatched Cardinal Rebiba to the court of 
Brussels, and Cardinal CarafTa to that of Paris. Both received the same public 
instructions ; but CarafTa, who was the Pope's nephew, also received a 
private commission, to spare neither entreaties, promises, nor bribes, in order 
to induce Henry to renounce the truce and renew his engagements with Paul 
IV. The cardinal was well fitted for the task assigned him : by holding out 
hopes of the conquest of Naples, he secured the good will of the king ; he 
Vol. III. 7 E • (^o. 



50 AGE OF ELIZABETH. 

gained by his address the Guises, the queen, and the famous Duchess of 
Valentinois, Diana of Poitiers, the king's mistress. Henry had but half assented 
to the reasoning of Montmorency, when he had previously represented the folly 
of sacrificing the interests of the kingdom by continuing the war, and he was 
now induced totally to disregard the prudent remonstrances of the constable. 
CarafFa absolved him from his oath of truce, and Henry signed a new treaty 
with the Pope. Italy and the Low Countries were speedily lighted up with 
the flames of war. Paul IV. scrupled not to proceed to the most violent ex- 
tremities against Philip, w^hose education had rendered him so superstitious, 
that he long hesitated about taking up arms. He consulted several Spanish 
divines about the lawfulness of such a measure, and only when they decided 
in his favour, and every gentle means had failed with the inexorable Paul, did 
he issue orders to the Duke of Alva to commence hostilities. That renowned 
warrior entered the papal states at the head of ten thousand men, and carried 
terror to the very gates of Rome. Obstinate and undaunted himself, Paul 
would have braved the worst ; but his cardinals forced him to agree to a truce 
for forty days. The Duke of Guise soon after arrived in Italy with twenty 
thousand French troops ; but he was unable to accomplish any thing worthy 
of his former fame. The Duke of Alva avoided an engagement, the Pope 
neglected to furnish the necessary reinforcements, and his ranks w^ere greatly 
thinned by disease. He was therefore recalled at his own request. The 
courier who brought the order for his recall, was also the bearer of most dis- 
astrous news. 

Philip had no sooner heard that Henry had broken the truce of Vaucelles, 
than he commenced acting with the utmost vigour. He assembled in the Low 
Countries a body of fifty thousand men ; he induced the English who were 
ruled by his wife Mary, to engage in the contest, and send him ten thousand 
men, and he gave the command of the war to Emanuel Philibert, duke of Savoy, 
one of the ablest generals of this warlike age. After amusing the enemy for a 
time by feints, he marched suddenly into Picardy, and laid siege to St. Quintin. 
This had once been a place of considerable strength, but the fortifications were 
now out of repair, and the garrison numbered but one-fifih of the forces requisite 
for its defence. It must spet lily have surrendered, had not the brave admiral 
De Coligny gallantly forced liis way through the enemy's army into the town, 
with seven hundred horse and two hundred foot. The Constable Montmorency 
hastened to relieve his nephew from so dangerous a situation, and, zealous for 
the public good, rashly advanced against the enemy with forces one half 
inferior in number. His army was cut in pieces, and he himself made prisoner. 
The Duke of Savoy now washed to march directly to Paris ; but the over- 
cautious Philip desired him to reduce St. Quintin first, in order that he might 
have a safe retreat if necessary. The gallant De Coligny defended it long and 
well, and before it was taken, France had been put in such a posture of defence 
that the enemy could gain only the two towns of Horn and Chatelet. 

The courier who recalled the Duke of Guise from Italy, bore an account 
of the disastrous battle of St. Quintin, and the duke, who saw a far better field 



CALAIS TAKEN F U O M THE E N (i L I S H. 53 

for his ambition, positively refused to continue the defence of Paul. The 
haughty pontiff was therefore obliged to make peace, and such was the super- 
stitious regard for the Holy See entertained by Philip, that he was enabled 
almost to dictate his own terms. They were simply that Paul should renounce 
his league with France, and that Alva should repair in person to Rome, and 
after asking pardon of the Holy Father in his own name and in that of his 
master, for having invaded the patrimony of the church, should receive abso- 
lution for that crime. On the same day that Paul saw his conqueror humbly 
kneeling at his feet, the Duke of Guise left Rome for France. He was received 
in his own country as the saviour of the kingdom, and his first measure proved 
the justice of the confidence which the king and the nation reposed in him. 

For two hundred years the English had kept possession of a city which 
was regarded as the most valuable of all the foreign possessions of the crown, 
as it opened to them at all times an easy and secure entry into the very heart 
of France. Calais was in that age deemed impregnable, and the English, 
trusting to its strength, were accustomed to withdraw a great part of the garrison 
during the winter, and replace it in the spring. The vigilant and valiant duke 
suddenly laid siege to it in the depth of winter, and pushed his attacks with 
such celerity that the governor was obliged to surrender, on the eighth day, the 
citadel which had cost Edward III. an eleven months' siege. His success in 
this daring enterprise surprised his own countrymen no less than it did his 
enemies. 

The joy of the French upon the occasion was extreme. In the first 
moment of enthusiasm, the states assembled at Paris voted 3000 crowns in 
gold to Henry by acclamation. There were great rejoicings in Paris. Henry 
sent to say that he would sup with the citizens attended by his court at the 
Hotel de Ville, on Holy Thursday. Twenty-five noble ladies, in silk uniforms, 
undertook the service of the tables. The floor of the hall, as a matter of great 
luxury, was covered with matting, and the ceiling was ornamented with 
branches of ivy woven into garlands; the w^alls were covered with rich tapestry, 
decorated with escutcheons. When Paul IV. heard that the Duke of Guise 
had taken Calais, he exclaimed that " it w^as the dower of Mary," and Daniel 
says, " it was all she gained by her marriage with Philip." The English loudly 
vented their passions, and murmured against the queen and her council, who 
had exposed the nation to such disgrace. Mary was repulsive in her person 
and in her manners, and though sincere in every thing, the catalogue of her 
vices includes obstinacy, bigotry, violence, and cruelty. The aflfair of Calais 
caused her to be more than ever hateful to her subjects, and her husband 
had long despised her, and now she fell into a fever which put an end to her 
short and inglorious reign, A. D. 1558. " When I am dead," said she to her 
attendants, " you will find Calais written on my heart." 

Her sister Elizabeth mounted the throne amidst the rejoicings of all par- 
ties, notwithstanding that the Catholics held her title defective, on the ground 
that the marriage of Henry VIII. with her mother, Anna Boleyn, had not been 
sanctioned by the Roman Church. The education of Elizabeth, as well as her 

e2 



54 AGEOFELIZABETH. 

interest, led her to favour the Reformation, and she very soon became the head 
of the Protestant power in Europe. Her first acts were calculated to give en- 
couragement, and from these she went on, by gradual and secure steps, until 
the reformation in Great Britain was effected. Henry and Philip beheld 
Elizabeth's elevation with equal solicitude, and both set themselves with emula- 
tion to court her favour. Henry's object was to detach her from the Spanish 
alliance, and conclude a separate peace with her ; Philip declared his esteem 
for her, and endeavoured to perpetuate their amity and alliance, by offering 
himself to her in marriage. The prudent and politic queen determined to yield 
to neither, yet for a time amused both. Such was her success with Philip, that 
that monarch warmly espoused her interests in a conference for a pe?ice that 
was held at her camp, and continued them after the negotiations were removed 
to Chateau-Cambresis. Before they were ended, however, he perceived that 
the prospect of a marriage with Elizabeth grew more and more distant, and 
finally became desperate when Elizabeth's inclination to the reformed religion 
was made known. A proper sense of decorum would not permit him wholly 
to abandon her cause, and he therefore insisted that the treaty of peace between 
Henry and Elizabeth should be concluded in form before that between France 
and Spain. The first treaty contained no important article, save that regarding 
Calais. It was stipulated that that town and its dependencies should remain 
in the possession of the French king for eight years, and then be restored to 
England, unless the sovereign of the latter country should, in the mean time, 
break peace with France or Scotland. (A. D. 1559.) 

In order to facilitate the formation of the second treaty, two marriages 
were projected ; one between Henry's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, and Philip 
II., the other between Henry's only sister, Margaret, and Emanuel Philibert, 
duke of Savoy. By the articles of the treaty, the French surrendered to Spain 
no less than eighty-nine fortified towns in the Low Countries and in Italy. 
The peace of Chateau-Cambresis embraced almost all Christian Europe : the 
Pope, the Emperor, the Kings of Sweden, Denmark, Poland, and Portugal, the 
King and Queen of Scotland, and a number of secondary princes entered into 
it as allies of the three great powers. In the midst of the fetes given to cele- 
brate the weddings of his sister and his daughter, the reign of Henry II. was 
terminated. Philip came to Paris in the month of June, accompanied by 
Emanuel of Savoy, the Duke of Alva, the Count d'Egmont, the Prince of 
Orange, and all the great commanders who had fought for him in the war. 
Among the entertainments which he prepared for his illustrious guests, Henry 
conceived the idea of giving a " passage of arms," after the manner of the 
tournaments of antiquity. He himself wished to be one of the challengers, and 
for three days he broke lances amidst the loud applause of the court. At 
length, on the evening of the 30th of June, he resolved, notwithstanding the 
entreaties of the queen, to break one more lance with Montgomery, the com- 
mander of the Scotch guards. They both entered the lists, charged each other 
and broke their lances, from one of which a splinter passed through the vizor 
of the king and entered deeply his right eye. The blow made him stagger, 



MARY, QUEENOF SCOTS. 55 

assistance was immediately rendered, and the whole court, in the greatest 
alarm, gathered around him. He said it was nothing of importance, and freely 
forgave Montgomery. But the blood flowing from the wound proved the mag- 
nitude of the danger. He was carried to the palace of Tournelles, and as soon 
as the first dressing was removed, his recovery was considered hopeless. He 
died on the eleventh day after receiving the wound, having first caused the 
marriage of the Duke of Savoy and his sister Margaret to take place in his 
chamber. A few weeks after the death of Henry, Paul IV. ended his pontifi- 
cate, and thus, as Robertson observes, all the personages who had long sus- 
tained the principal characters on the theatre of Europe, disappeared nearly at 
the same time. 

Though it settled the claims of the contending powers, the treaty of 
Chateau-Cambresis failed to secure lasting tranquillity to Europe. Mary, 
Queen of Scots, the daughter of James V. of Scotland, and great grand- 
daughter of Henry VII. of England, was heir to the English throne, if the 
Catholic doctrine of the illegitimacy of Elizabeth could be established. The 
powerful and ambitious Guises were her maternal uncles, and through their 
influence she had been educated in France, and married, when very young, to 
the Dauphin, now Francis II. of France, the successor of Henry II. By her 
aid, Francis was brought under the influence of the house of Guise, which thus 
triumphed over the rival factions of the queen-mother, the perfidious Catharine 
de Medicis, the two princes of the blood, Anthony of Navarre and Louis, 
prince of Conde, and the powerful Montmorency and his family. But her power 
as Queen of France was soon ended by the death of Francis 11., at the age of 
seventeen, and she returned to Scotland to encounter the misfortunes which 
have made her so celebrated. 

In that country the Reformation had been going forward with the most 
ardent zeal. Among its promoters were some of the most powerful nobles in 
the kingdom, and they had by their own authority suppressed the Papal reli- 
gion over a great part of the country, whilst an ill-judged persecution on the 
part of the Catholic bishops gave a colour to their proceedings and an impulse 
to the spread of their doctrines. Headed by John Knox, a virtuous but very 
violent disciple of Calvin, they threw down the altars and images, expelled the 
priests, and demolished the churches and monasteries. When Maiy of Guise, 
the queen-mother, attempted to reduce her Protestant subjects to submission, 
they applied to the Protestant queen, Elizabeth, who sent an army and fleet to 
their assistance. A capitulation followed the death of Mary of Guise, by which 
it was agreed that Mary's French troops should leave Scotland, and that Mary, 
Queen of Scots, should renounce all pretensions to the crown of England. The 
Catholic gave place to the reformed religion, w^hich was established under 
Presbyterian forms. Unfortunately, this was as bigoted as the worst form of 
the ancient system had been. The Protestant subjects of Mary looked upon 
her with abhorrence, yet her winning manners and the weakness of her party 
prevented an immediate outbreak. The fanaticism of the Protestants was 
restrained by their trust in the Earl of Murray, who was also favoured with the 



56 A G E O F E L I Z A B E T H. 

confidence of Queen Elizabeth. The first breach was occasioned by the mar- 
riage of Mary with Lord Darnley, the son of the Earl of Lennox, who stood in 
the relation of cousin to both Mary and Elizabeth. (A. D. 1565.) Finding 
security refused to the Protestant religion, several lords sought refuge in Eng- 
land, and acted upon the jealous nature of Darnley, to induce him to join their 
association. The object of their misrepresentations was one Rizzio, an Italian, 
secretary to Mary, who was very partial to him. Darnley introduced a party 
of armed men into the palace, arrested Rizzio in the queen's presence, and 
murdered him at her feet. The birth of a son shortly afterwards hardly recon- 
ciled Darnley and the queen, but their renewed intercourse was speedily inter- 
rupted by Darnley's death. Falling sick, he was visited by Mary, who, it is 
said, caused him to be removed to a solitary house called the Kirk of Field, 
on the pretence that quiet was necessary to an invalid. On the 9th of February, 
1569, this house was blown up with gunpowder, and the lifeless body of Darn- 
ley was found near it, but exhibiting no marks of external violence. 

The suspicion of having committed this outrage fell upon the Earl of 
Bothwell, while Mary was regarded as an accessory to it ; a suspicion which 
she unfortunately justified by her speedy marriage with Bothwell. It may be 
remarked, however, that he had been absolved on trial for that crime, and had 
by force made himself master of her person.* The Earl of Murray now confined 
her in Lochleven castle, on the pretext that she was guilty of adultery and 
murder, and forced her to abdicate in favour of her son, who was crowned 
with the title of James VI. She escaped from prison, and immediately found 
herself at the head of a numerous army ; but the regent Murray hastily assem- 
bled his forces, and, though inferior in number, defeated her troops in a pitched 
battle at Langside, near Glasgow. A dispersion of the queen's party followed 
this reverse ; Mary fled southwards from the field of battle with great precipita- 
tion, and with a few attendants reached the borders of England. She dared 
not remain in her own kingdom ; she was unwilling, in her present condition, to 
seek refuge in France, where, formerly, she had been surrounded with so much 
splendour ; and the only course left was to throw herself upon the generosity 
of her subtle rival Elizabeth, who had lately treated her with a show of sym- 
pathy and protection. Her resolution was soon taken. She embarked on 
board a fishing boat in Galloway, and landed the same day at Workington, in 
Cumberland, about thirty miles from Carlisle, whence she despatched a messen- 
ger to London, notifying her arrival, desiring leave to visit Elizabeth, and 
craving her protection in consequence of former professions of friendship made 
her by that princess. f A great object of Elizabeth's ambition had now been 
gained ; her hatred of her rival had hitherto been confined to secret co-opera- 
tion wi^th Mary's enemies, but the unfortunate queen was now in her power, 
and, by her alliance with Murray, the English queen had command over the 
kingdom of Scotland. The virgin queen might now have pursued a course 
which would have rendered her's the most illustrious character of modern 

* Tytlnr. t Hiimo. 



AFFAIRS OF FRANCE. 



57 




Europe, but the virtues of her heart were far inferior to the powers of her 
mind ; her generosity and her honour gave way to policy, and her unfortunate 
rival was placed in close custody. She was made to suffer the indignity of a 
trial for the murder of her husband, at which Murray boldly stood forth as her 
accuser. It came to no conclusion, however, and Mary was detained in cus- 
tody. Nine years of the captivity which she subsequently endured were 
passed in Winfield castle, a part of which still bears the name of Queen Mary's 
Tower. Events abroad, which immediately come under our notice, decided 
her fate. 

During the year that Francis II. occupied the throne of France, he was 
the mere tool of the Guises. These co-operated with Philip of Spain in an 
attempt to establish the Inquisition throughout their respective countries. Philip, 
unlike his father, was more politic than warlike. By zeal for religion, and pro- 
fuse liberality toward the nobility, he hoped to receive the united support of the 
ecclesiastics and the aristocracy, in his attempts to subdue the people, — to 
Vol. III. 8 



58 AGEOFELIZABETH. 

acquire universal dominion. But in the Netherlands and in France, the attempt 
to establish the Inquisition provoked a determined resistance ; the papacy be- 
came identified with cruelty and tyranny, and its opponents with patriotism. 
The persecution of the French Protestants, which had been commenced by 
Henry II., and continued with greater violence by his successor, had served 
only to increase their numbers. At the death of Francis II., the leaders of the 
Huguenots, the Prince of Conde and the King of Navarre, were both in prison 
on account of their faith, the first being under sentence of death. Catharine 
de Medicis, the queen regent for the infant Charles IX., pursued the policy of 
" dividing to govern." She released the captive princes, made the King of 
Navarre lieutenant-general of the kingdom, and recalled Montmorency to court; 
and though the Guises still enjoyed high oflfices and great power, they found a 
counterpoise to the weight of their influence. The two parties speedily found 
themselves engaged in hostilities, brought on by an attack made by the retainers 
of the Duke of Guise upon a party of unarmed Protestants whom they found 
worshipping in a barn. The King of Navarre went over to the Catholic side, 
and was killed at the taking of Rouen ; but Conde and Coligny took the field 
at the head of a small army. A bloody battle was fought at Dreux, in which 
the Catholics were victorious. Both the Prince of Conde and the commander 
of his opponents, Montmorency, remained prisoners in the hands of their ene- 
mies. The Council of Trent, which was sitting at this time, celebrated the 
victory of Dreux by a public thanksgiving, thereby proving to the world the 
hollowness of their professed desire for peace. 

This public proceeding was calculated to give another accession of strength 
to the reformers ; but secret plans were devised, fraught with imminent danger 
to the Protestants. The Cardinal of Lorraine imprudently revealed one of 
these by reading in his place a letter from his niece, Mary of Scots, in which 
she promised to submit herself to the council, and, in the event of her succes- 
sion to the throne of England, to subject both her kingdoms to obedience to 
the Apostolic See. The Cardinal added that Mary would have sent prelates 
to represent her kingdom in the council, had she not been obliged to keep 
terms with her heretical counsellors. After eighteen years of sittings, the council 
was dissolved, and, though in all that time no plan for reforming ecclesiastical 
morals, discipline, or doctrines had been produced, the last act of the holy 
fathers was the fulmination of an anathema against heretics. The declared 
object of its meeting was the reformation of the church, by which means only 
a reconciliation with the Protestants could have been effected. But instead 
of confining themselves to theological errors, or attempting to eradicate eccle- 
siastical abuses, the fathers extended their deliberations to the reformation of 
princes, and composed thirteen articles for exalting the priesthood at the 
expense of the royal prerogative. All hope of temporal dominion having been 
lost, the Council of Trent applied itself to giving spiritual supremacy to the 
church. By its decrees it placed her in such a position that she was necessarily 
an ally to any despotic and ambitious monarch, and henceforth we find that in 
Catholic countries, every sovereign remarkable for hostility to constitutional 



PERSECUTIONS OF THE DUKE OF ALVA. 59 

freedom has been a firm supporter of the Holy See and the " articles" of the 
Council of Trent. 

Soon after the dissolution of the council, Pope Pius IV. urged a conference 
between Philip of Spain and Catharine de Medicis. Philip objected to a per- 
sonal interview, on account of his ill-health, but sent an able representative to 
meet the queen-regent of France at Bayonne. There the Duke of Alva and 
Catharine accordingly consulted as to the best method of attaining their object, 
the destruction of the Huguenots and all others disposed to restrict the royal 
prerogatives. The bloody Alva recommended the most violent measures, 
edicts of extermination, military executions, and general massacres. But 
Catharine, though no less cruel than the duke, was more politic, disposed 
rather to rely upon craft and cunning than power in the attainment of her ends. 
Alva's atrocious plans could not be executed in France without the introduction 
of a large Spanish force, and she was too jealous of power to allow any influ- 
ence to be exerted by a foreign court over the realm she governed. She hated 
the Huguenots far more for their political power than on account of their 
heretical opinions ; and it was this very power of its leaders that prevented the 
Reformation from becoming general among the lower and middle classes in 
France. They impressed an aristocratic character upon it, which caused these 
classes to associate it in their minds with feudalism. 

The attempt by Philip to establish the Inquisition in Flanders, provoked 
an insurrection, which the Duke of Alva was commissioned to suppress, and 
was therefore furnished with almost absolute authority. His tyranny forced 
many of the Flemish merchants and manufacturers to remove to England, 
where their industry and enterprise gave a considerable impulse to the commer- 
cial prosperity of that kingdom. As the Netherlands were then the chief seat 
of the manufactures of Europe, the Flemish exiles introduced into England 
many useful arts hitherto unknown in that country. Elizabeth would gladly 
have aided the distressed Protestants in the Low Countries ; but the mighty 
power of Philip, and the great force which he maintained in those mutinous 
provinces, had hitherto kept her in awe, and made her still preserve some ap- 
pearance of friendship with that monarch. She had permitted the Flemish 
privateers to enter the English harbours and there dispose of their prizes, but 
on the remonstrance of the Spanish minister she withdrew that liberty ; a mea- 
sure which finally proved prejudicial to the interests of Philip, inasmuch as it 
threw the Nelherlanders upon their own resources, and led them to defend by 
desperate valour the provinces already well fortified by nature. 

The character of Alva was too bloody to allow him to rCvStore peace to the 
Netherlands, and the heroic resistance made by the princes of Orange to his 
oppressions, finally caused the separation of those provinces from the Spanish 
crown. The papal court frequently blamed the brutal obstinacy of Philip and 
the duke ; but the latter preferred force to fraud, open exterminating war to the 
more certain, more Italian method of assassination. The Turks joined in the 
contest, and assumed the character of protectors of the Flemings, but they were 
defeated by Don John of Austria, who commanded the allied Spanish and 



60 



AGE OF ELIZABETH. 




QUEEN ELIZABE'J'H 



Venetian forces, in the bloody battle of Lepanto. This was one of the most 
fierce and destructive naval combats of modern times. Thirty thousand Turks 
were slain in the conflict, ten thousand taken prisoners, and fifteen thousand 
Christians set at liberty. Thirty Turkish galleys were sunk, twenty-five burnt, 
and one hundred and thirty taken : the confederates sustaining a loss of fifteen 
galleys and ten thousand men. The hostile combatants fought for three hours 
hand to hand in most of the galleys, as on a battle field. At length the Turkish 
admiral was slain, his head was made to replace the Ottoman standard at the 
stern of his ship, and the banner of the cross waved from the mainmast. The 
cry of victory resounded through the Christian fleet, and the Turks gave way 
in all directions. When Pope Pius V. heard of this victory, he was transported 
with joy, and exclaimed in a kind of holy ecstasy, " There was a man sent 
from God, and his nam.e was John ;" alluding to the gallant commander of the 
allies. But Philip of Spain, when the news of his brother's success was com- 
municated to him, merely remarked, " Don John has been fortunate, but he ran 
a great risk." The victory was not followed up ; the Turks recovered from 
their consternation, and " the risk" proved to have been encountered merely 
for glory. 



THE MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 61 

In the year 1570, a treaty concluded at St. Germains ended the war, 
which had lasted for ten years, and which commenced by a Huguenot con- 
spiracy for removing the young king from the hands of the Guises. The terms 
of this treaty were favourable to the Huguenots, and the peace which it esta- 
blished was to be cemented by a marriage between the young King of Navarre 
and the princess Margaret, sister to the King of France. The first artifice for 
blinding the Protestants was the conclusion of a defensive alliance between 
France and England. The projected marriage was one of the last steps of a 
diabolical conspiracy against the Huguenots, by which it was hoped for ever to 
destroy their power in France. The leaders of this devoted people suffered 
themselves to be once more deceived by the promises and professions of the 
court ; the admiral De Coligny, the Prince of Conde, and all the most consi- 
derable men of the Protestant party, went to Paris to assist at the celebration 
of that marriage. Catharine and her son Henry, the brother of Charles IX., 
finding that Coligny was beginning to have an influence over the king, resolved 
to assassinate him, and hired a villain to carry out this resolution. The admi- 
ral was wounded but not killed, and his friends discovered the authors of the 
plot, and imprudently avowed their intention of revenging it. 

Catharine therefore assembled a council of her friends, at which it was 
resolved to massacre all the Huguenots on the eve of St. Bartholomew, A. D. 
1572. The populace of Paris was wholly Catholic, and at that time the most 
bigoted in the kingdom ; the royal guard were still animated by the spirit of 
the wars in which they had been engaged ; and on these the conspirators, seven 
in number, relied for the execution of their plot. On the appointed evening, 
when every arrangement for the effectual accomplishment of the slaughter had 
been made, and all was in readiness to begin, Catharine went with her advisers 
to the king, who had been kept in ignorance of the whole transaction. He 
was but little better than an idiot, and the crafty Catharine succeeded in pro- 
curing his signature to the decree of extermination. At midnight the work of 
death commenced, chiefly under the direction of the Duke of Guise. For eight 
days and nights the massacre continued with undiminished fury. About five 
hundred gentlemen of rank, most eminent in the Protestant party, and nearly 
ten thousand persons of inferior condition, were murdered in Paris alone. The 
same barbarous orders were sent to all the provinces of the kingdom, and 
Rouen, Lyons, Orleans, and other cities were whnesses to similar scenes ; 
citizens zealously seconding the execution of the soldiery, imbruing their hands 
without remorse in the blood of their neighbours, of their companions, and even 
of their relations. Several Catholics fell in the confusion which everywhere 
prevailed, victims of mistake or private animosity. Charles himself assisted to 
swell the carnage, by firing from a balcony upon the Protestants who attempted 
to escape by crossing the Seine. 

Though at Madrid and at Rome the supposed overthrow of heresy in 
France was celebrated by public rejoicings, the Catholic cause sustained a 
serious injury by the horror which the massacre excited among the Catholics 
themselves in the north of Europe. In France the Protestants found themselves 

V 



62 AGE OF ELIZABETH. 

strengthened by the sympathy of all who possessed the finer feelings of huma- 
nity, and they recommenced the struggle. The war was marked by even 
greater fury than before, and the authors of the massacre found that they had 
acquired immortal infamy in vain. The Prince of Orange placed himself at 
the head of the revolted Netherlanders, and gave to the insurrection a deter- 
mined character by capturing Brille. He had now a naval station for his 
cruisers, and a sufficient appearance of strength to justify the cities of Holland 
and Zealand in joining the confederacy. The massacre of St. Bartholomew 
stimulated them to perseverance, and though defeated on the land, they 
destroyed a great part of the maritime power and advantages of Spain, Alva 
was unable to re-establish his master's supremacy, and he therefore gave place 
to Zunega y Requesens. (1573.) This general opened his administration by 
a brilliant victory gained over the patriots at Monher Moor, near Nimeguen. 
The three brothers of the Prince of Orange all fell in this battle, which would 
.probably have ended the war but for the mutinous disposition and misconduct 
of the Spanish soldiery. By pillaging Antwerp they added many indignant 
Catholics to their Protestant enemies. Five of the Batavian and six Belgic 
provinces acceded to the pacification of Ghent, A. D. 1576, w^hich met with 
the approbation of Don John of Austria, the successor of Requesens. But reli- 
gious jealousies soon rendered it evident that the northern provinces could only 
obtain freedom by uniting together closely and throwing off all allegiance to 
Spain. With this view the Prince of Orange formed the confederacy of 
Utrecht, which was the basis of that commonwealth so renowned under the 
name of the Republic of the United Provinces. (A. D. 1579.) The nomina- 
tion of the Duke of Parma to the regency threatened to ruin the confederacy, 
the southern provinces entered into an alliance with him against the northern 
insurgents, the Prince of Orange was assassinated, and general gloom clouded 
the prospects of the brave Hollanders. But they lost not their courage. They 
chose Maurice, a youth of eighteen, the son of their late illustrious leader, to 
be their stadtholder and captain-general by sea and land, and vigorously con- 
tinued the war. When the arms of the Duke of Parma were still successful, 
and Aniwerp fell into his hands, they obtained aid from Queen Elizabeth, and 
though they derived little benefit therefrom, yet the breaking out of hostilities 
between England and Spain, and the death of the Duke of Parma in the civil 
wars of France, gave the heroic Maurice a superiority by sea and land, and 
finally forced the haughty sovereign of Spain to recognise their independence, 
A. D. 1609. 

The weak brother of Charles IX., who had been called to the throne of 
Poland, resigned that dignity when the death of the King of France opened to 
him the succession. He almost immediately began a religious war, which he 
ended in less than a year by an ignominious peace. The contempt which this 
conduct and his subsequent debaucheries caused to fall upon Henry III., 
encouraged his enemies the Guises to raise once more the cry of " religion in 
danger." The Pope and the King of Spain declared themselves the protectors 
of a league which was drawn up by the Cardinal of Lorraine for the defence 



THELEAGUE, 63 

of the Catholic religion, and which was sworn and subscribed to by Catholics 
of all ranks and conditions in Paris and the provinces. The Duke of Guise 
was the head of this confederacy, which was called the Holy League, and 
which speedily obliged Heniy to revoke the freedom of conscience he had 
granted to the Huguenots. A civil war, the ninth since the death of Francis 
II., immediately broke out. 

The formation of this league precipitated the death of Mary Queen of Scots. 
Some enthusiastic English Catholics formed a plan for murdering Elizabeth, 
and an act of parliament was passed authorizing the trial of Mary for participa- 
tion in the plot. Commissioners came to Fotheringay castle, where she was 
imprisoned, and, although she was not guilty of the charge, they condemned 
her to death. Elizabeth, with great show of reluctance, signed the warrant for 
her execution, and gave it to Davison, her private secretary, enjoining him not 
to use it without further orders. Davison showed the warrant to the members 
of the council, and they unhesitatingly caused Mary to be executed.* 

The death of the unfortunate queen was speedily followed by the murder 
of her uncles, the Guises. The factious duke, at the assembly of the states of 
Blois, exhibited such vain ostentation and unbounded authority, that the king 
awoke from the apathy into which he had fallen. Moved by many lords, who 
were really devoted to his cause, he fixed the moment for decisive action. 
Guise received several hints ; among others, a note placed under his napkin in- 
formed him that Henry had sworn to compass his death. " He dares not do 
it," he said in a low voice, as he threw the paper under the table. The catas- 
trophe immediately followed. He was called by the king to the cabinet, and 
as he opened the door he was knocked down by four gentlemen of the chamber, 
who mutilated him dreadfully with their halberts, and ended his existence. At 
the same moment his brothers and his most distinguished adherents were 
arrested. Many were put to death in prison, and the rest fled, spreading con- 
sternation everywhere. Henry, however, was too much given to inaction to 
pursue the advantage he had gained. While he pompously dissolved the 
assembly of the states of Blois, and superintended the funeral of Catharine de 
Medicis, who had at length ceased to vex France with her intrigues, the 
leaguers aroused themselves to vigorous measures. They assembled a parlia- 
ment, deposed the king, and created the Duke of Mayenne lieutenant-general 
of the kingdom. Henry sought the aid of his Protestant subjects, and was on 
the point of driving his enemies from Paris, when he was assassinated by a 
fanatic, suborned for that purpose by the leaders of the League. The race of 
Valois being now extinct, the crown fell to the house of Bourbon, the offspring 
of Robert, the sixth son of Saint Louis. Its head, and consequently the King 
of France, was the warlike and amiable Protestant king, Henry of Navarre. 

The League, how^ever, confided the direction of their affairs to the Duke 
of Mayenne, the brother of the Duke of Guise, and proclaimed as king the old 
Cardinal de Bourbon, who was a prisoner in the hands of Henry IV. The duke 

* Taylor. Tytler. 



64 A G E O F E L 1 Z A B E T H. 

left Paris at tlie head of 25,000 men in quest of Henry, whose feeble army 
numbered but 7000, yet the latter fought a bloody battle with him at Arques in 
Normandy. The advantage was on the side of the king, but Mayenne having 
taken three standards, sent them to Paris with the announcement that he was 
about to bring Henry bound with cords to the capital. The rejoicings of the 
citizens were at their height when Henry himself appeared before the city, not 
a pinioned captive, but the commander of a victorious army, lately reinforced 
by five thousand English. He allowed his troops to pillage the Faubourg St. 
Germain, then abandoned Paris for the conquest of Lower Normandy. 

The Leaguers fell into violent schisms, and Henry again approached 
Paris. At Ivry he was confronted by Mayenne with an army superior in point 
of numbers. Both parties made preparations for a battle, but the valiant king 
suffered no precautions to be taken in the event of misfortune. " No other 
place of retreat," said he, "than the field of battle." As he led his troops 
into action, he called out to them, in case they lost sight of their standards, to 
follow the plume in his helmet, assuring them that it would ever be found in 
the road to honour. Such a leader could not fail of success ; the army of 
Mayenne was almost entirely destroyed. (1590.) The conqueror marched 
directly upon Paris, which, oppressed by its defenders, found pity only from 
the prince who besieged it. The obstinacy of the League made the inhabitants 
to suffer the most horrible extremities of famine, but they succeeded in defend- 
ing the walls until the arrival of the Duke of Parma forced Henry to raise the 
siege. The war was continued with fury until 1593, when the States General 
assembled at Paris for the purpose of choosing a king. Henry, convinced that 
he could not hope to reign in quiet as long as he remained a Protestant, abjured 
that faith, and thereby set all the rival interests in commotion, and created a 
tempest in the States General. The League had no further pretext for its con- 
tinuance ; and though Mayenne endeavoured for private purposes to prolong 
the war, he but alienated from himself the affections of all parties, and unwill- 
ingly contributed the sooner to restore peace. The Count of Brissac,to whom 
he had confided the government of Paris, entered into negotiations with Henry, 
who was at St. Denis, and delivered up the city to the royal troops on the 
night of the 22d of March, 1594. The Spanish guards only offered resistance ; 
they were put to the sword ; the factions were awed by terror and surprise. 

Henry himself at length appeared. He was met by the Count of Brissac 
and the Mayor of Paris with the keys of the city ; he himself advanced in the 
midst of a body of nobles whh pikes trailing. His march was a perfect 
triumph, and from that day forth he looked upon the Parisians as his own chil- 
dren. All his enemies, even those whose fury had hired assassins *to murder 
him, experienced his clemency. The Duke of Mayenne was defeated again 
at Fontaine Frangaise, and expressed his readiness to acknowledge Henry, 
when the king should have received absolution. This was extended to him by 
the papal legate. Mayenne was pardoned, and thenceforth served him faith- 
fully. Henry then turned the united arms of the kingdom against Philip of 
Spain, who, when all his projects had failed, when his treasury was exhausted 



THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA. 



65 




BNTilT OF HENRY IV. INTO PARIS. 



and his navy ruined, renounced the claims he had preferred against France. 
(1598.) In the same year, Henry, now firmly in possession of the throne, made 
amends to the Protestants for his desertion of their ranks, by the promulgation 
of the famous edict of Nantes, which secured to them the free exercise of their 
religion, and a share in the administration of justice, and the privilege of being 
admitted to all offices of trust, honour, and profit. 

Meanwhile, Philip of Spain had added the kingdom of Portugal to his 
other dominions, on the. death of the king of that country without issue. 
(A. D. 1580.) When Elizabeth, departing from her cautious policy, espoused 
the cause of the revolted Netherlanders, and assumed the proud place of 
head of the Protestantism of Europe, Philip was preparing an expedition, which 
had for its purpose no less an object than the conquest of England, in all 
his dominions, Spain, Portugal, Naples, and such parts of the Low Countries 
as still recognised his authority, he caused ships of uncommon size and force 
to be fitted out ; naval stores were bought up at great expense ; provisions 
amassed ; armies levied and quartered in the maritime provinces, and plans 
laid for such an embarkation as had never before appeared on the ocean. An 
immense fleet of transports was being built to carry 35,000 men, under the 
Duke of Parma, who was to join what national vanity fondly denominated the 
Invincible Armada, and with it enter the Thames, land the Spanish army near 
London, and decide the fate of England at one blow. All Europe apprehended 
that Elizabeth must be overwhelmed ; but, undismayed, she boldly prepared 
to meet the danger. She gave the command of her fleet to a gallant Catholic 
nobleman, Lord Howard, of Effingham, under whose command were the most 
Vol. III. 9 f 2 



66 



AGE OF ELIZABETH. 




QUEEN ELIZABETH AT TILBURY. 



renowned seamen of Europe, Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher. To awaken the 
courage and patriotism of her subjects, she made her personal appearance at 
the head of her troops. At Tilbury, she appeared on horseback, riding through 
the lines and speaking to the soldiers. The effect of her harangue was com- 
mensurate with the sound judgment and consummate knowledge of mankind 
which dictated such a display. 

On the 30th of May, 1588, under the Duke of Medina Sidonia, the Armada 
sailed from Lisbon, but on account of stormy weather it did not reach the 
English channel until the 19th of July. While he waited for the Duke of 
Parma to join him with the transport ships, the Spanish admiral was attacked 
by the Earl of Effingham, who, after seven days of warfare, forced him to aban- 
don all hopes of accomplishing his purpose, and turn his thoughts towards an 
escape. Dreading again to encounter the English fleet, the Duke of Medina 
Sidonia resolved to lead his squadron round the British Islands. He was fol- 
lowed closely by his enemy, and would perhaps have been compelled to sur- 
render, but for the failure of the contractors to supply the English fleet with 
ammunition. The event, however, was scarcely less fatal to the Spaniards. 
The Armada was attacked by a violent storm in passing the Orkneys, and many 
of the vessels were driven on the western isles of Scotland, or on the coast of 
Ireland. Less than one half of the fleet, and a smaller proportion of the sol- 



THE EARL OF ESSEX. 



67 




ESSES 



diers and sailors returned to Spain. The defeat of this great enterprise 
destroyed the decisive influence which Spain had acquired in the affairs of 
Europe, and ever since the shipwreck of the Armada, the Spanish state and 
people seem to have lost all energy, and sunk into almost hopeless decay.* 

The close of the brilliant reign of Elizabeth presents few remarkable fea- 
tures. The attempt of the Armada was retaliated by the English, who made 
descents on the Spanish coast, under their great commanders Raleigh, Howard, 
Drake, Cavendish, and Hawkins. The handsome and accomplished Robert 
Devereux, Earl of Essex, distinguished himself in these expeditions, and won 
the favour of the English queen. The unrivalled place in her affections, and 
the chief authority in her councils, became his by the death of her former 
favourite, Liecester, and of her minister Burleigh. His pride disgusted the 
nobles, who took advantage of his failure in quelling a rebellion in Ireland to 
undermine him in the favour of the queen. In the excitement of his disgrace, 
and confident of his great popularity with the people, he proposed to possess 
himself of the person of the queen, compel her to remove his enemies and 
acquiesce in all his measures. This treasonable enterprise led Elizabeth to 
sign the warrant for his execution, and he was led to the scaffold. 

While Essex was in high favour with Elizabeth, she had given him a ring 
as a pledge of her affection, and had accompanied the gift with a promise that 



* Russell. Taylor. 



68 



AGE OF ELIZABETH. 



in rnnm 




EARL or ESSEX LED TO EXECOTION. 



into whatever disgrace he might fall, or whatever prejudices she might be 
induced to entertain against him by his enemies, he might depend on her for 
forgiveness if he produced that ring. In his final extremity, Essex resolved to 
try the efficacy of this precious gift, and he committed it to the Countess of 
Nottingham, in order that she might deliver it to the queen. But the husband 
of the countess was one of the most implacable enemies of Essex, and he per- 
suaded her to act an atrocious part ; neither to deliver the ring to the queen 
nor return it to the earl. Elizabeth imputed the omission of this appeal to her 
tenderness to the disdainful pride of her favourite ; and the resentment which 
this caused her to feel was one of her chief reasons for assenting to his execu- 
tion. The Countess of Nottingham, falling sick after the death of Essex, was 
struck with remorse on account of her perfidy, and desired to see the queen in 
order to reveal to her a secret, without disclosing which she could not die in 
peace. When the queen entered her apartment, she presented Essex's ring, 
related the purpose for which she had received it, and begged forgiveness of 
her crime. All Elizabeth's affection returned, all her rage was roused. 
<< God may forgive you, but I never can," she cried, as she shook the dying 
countess in her bed. She then rushed out of the room. 

Few and miserable, after this discovery, were the days of Elizabeth. Her 
spirit left her, and existence itself seemed a burden. At length, when her 
death was visibly approaching, the privy council sent to know her will in regard 
to her successor ; she named her nearest kinsman, the King of Scots. She 
soon after expired, her body being totally wasted by abstinence and anguish. 

While her death teaches us a striking: lesson of the unsubstantial nature of 



ORIGIN OF THE BRITISH NAVY. 69 

human greatness, the history of her times shows to what a degree of wealth 
and consequence a nation may be raised in a few years by a wise and vigorous 
administration, and what powerful efforts may be made by a brave and united 
people in repelling or annoying an enemy, however superior in force.* 

The reign of Elizabeth, says Chambers, saw the commencement of 
the naval glory of England. Down to the reign of Henry VII., there was no 
such thing as a navy belonging to the public, and the military genius of the 
people was devoted exclusively to enterprises by land. The rise, however, of 
a commercial spirit in Europe, which in 1492 had caused the discovery of 
America, and was again acted upon by the scope for adventure which that dis- 
covery opened up, had latterly caused great attention to be paid to nautical 
affairs in England. Englishmen of all ranks supported and entered into enter- 
prises for discovering unknown territories ; and under Drake, Cavendish, 
Raleigh, and Frobisher, various expeditions of less or more magnitude were 
sent out. The colonies of North America were now commenced. Amongst 
the exertions of private merchants, our attention is chiefly attracted by the 
commencement of the northern whale-fishery, the cod-fishery of Newfoundland, 
and the slave-trade in Africa. When hostilities with Spain became more open, 
the English commanders made many successful attacks upon hercolonies in the 
West Indies, and also upon the fleets of merchant vessels which were employed 
to carry home the gold, and other almost equally valuable products of the New 
World, to the Spanish harbours. These attacks were now made in a more 
systematic manner, and with more effect, as a revenge for the affair of the 
Armada. It may almost be said that the dominion of Britain over the seas was 
perfected in one reign ; a power which has been of such advantage to that 
country, both in protecting its commerce and keeping it secure from foreign 
invasion, that its origin would have conferred everlasting lustre on this period 
of English history, even although it had not been characterized by any other 
glorious event. 

* Russell. 





CHAPTER III. 

Ebixtp ¥eaig' Hilair. 




NE month before the edict of Nantes terminated the long 
series of civil wars, and banished religious animosities 
from France, the wise Henry IV., by the peace of Vervins, 
secured himself from interruption on the part of Spain, 
while he turned his attention to the arts of peace, and the 
increase of the happiness and prosperity of his kingdom. 
No country could be in a more wretched condition 
than France at this time : the crown loaded with debts and 
pensions ; the whole country desolated ; the people poor 
and miserable, and the nobility unjust, rebellious, and cruel. But Henry had 
a sound head and a bold heart; and his minister, the famous Sully, was equally 
firm, active, and indefatigable. After having served the king most faithfully 
in all his earlier fields, he entered his councils, and was placed at the head of 
the finances. Under his able and honest management, affairs soon changed 
their aspect; the treasury was replenished, while, at the same time, the people 
found their burdens lightened by economy. He made the king master of his 
own affairs ; digesting the whole system of the finances into tables, by the help 
of which Henry could see, almost at a single glance, all the different branches 
of his revenue and expenditure. He diminished all the expenses of govern- 
ment, but, at the same time, paid every one punctually, and took care that the 
king should always have a reserve, that, upon an emergency, he might not be 
obliged to lay new impositions on the people, or make use of credit. In five 
years, by his prudence he paid all the debts of the crown, augmented the 
revenue four millions of livres, and had four millions in the treasury ; yet with 
all this he had considerably reduced the taxes. His maxims of policy were 

(70) 



AFFAIRS OF GERMANY. 71 

generally good, though not so liberal as those of Henry himself. Thus Sully 
was an enemy to all manufactures connected with luxury, while the king rea- 
soned that a prosperous people would always possess themselves of luxuries ; 
and that it was better to fabricate them in the kingdom than purchase them 
from foreigners with the precious metals or the produce of the soil. Henry 
therefore introduced the culture and manufacture of silk, and with such success, 
that before his death he had the satisfaction to see it not only supply the home 
consumption, but bring more money into the kingdom than any of the former 
staples. The manufactures of linen and tapestry, which he also established, 
were equally successful. The peace of his kingdom and the security of Henry's 
throne, however, were continually endangered by the consequences of his 
numerous love intrigues, and the machinations of the court of Spain. The 
continued attempts of the latter to disturb his kingdom, made Henry resolve to 
carry into execution the design which he had long meditated, of humbling the 
house of Austria, and circumscribing its power in Italy and Germany. This 
was but a part of a grand project for the transformation of the whole of Europe 
into a federative republic, which it was his intention should furnish one com- 
mon army wherewith to drive the Turks out of Europe.* 

Since the death of the Emperor Charles V., nothing of importance had 
occurred in Germany. Ferdinand I. and his son Maximilian II. had reigned 
in profound peace, and Rudolph II. would have done the same, had he been 
able. Although he was more occupied with astronomy and astrology, which 
he studied under the famous Tycho Brahe, than with the affairs of the empire, 
during his long reign it enjoyed almost uninterrupted tranquillity ; the equity 
of his administration compensating for the weakness of his rule. His brother 
Matthias was an ambitious prince, who made himself master of Hungary, 
Austria, and Moravia, possessions which the Emperor confirmed, rather than 
incur the horrors of a civil war. To secure and extend their privileges, the 
Protestant princes of the empire formed a confederacy, called the Evangelical 
Union, which was opposed by another under the name of the Catholic League. 

A contest for the succession to the power of the late John William, duke of 
Cleves, Juliers, Berg, and Mark, roused to arms the heads of the two parties. 
The duke left no children, but four sisters, whose husbands and other distant 
relations all laid claim to the beautiful lands of the Lower Rhine. Two of 
these claimants, the Elector of Brandenburg and the Count-palatine of Neu- 
berg, took first possession, and signed a treaty at Dusseldorf, by which they 
agreed to govern the country until the matter was definitively settled. 
Rudolph, however, sent his brother Leopold to take possession of it as a fief 
of the empire. Finding that he could only gain the town of Juliers, he set 
about raising troops in Alsace, to maintain the rights of the Emperor by force. 
The Evangelical Union came forward to aid the- two princes thus threatened, 
and Henry IV. of France seized upon this opportunity for interfering in the 
affairs of Germany. He embraced the cause of the Union, and formed alliances 

* Russell. Kolrausch. 



72 DEATH OF HENRY IV. 

with several of his neighbours, especially the King of England and the It'alian 
princes. In the spring of 1610, the army of the Union marched into Alsace, 
dispersed the few thousands of soldiers (follected there by Leopold, and sud- 
denly assumed a hostile attitude throughout all the sees of the Rhine, levying 
contributions and exercising the greatest violence in every direction. The 
Catholic League also took up arms, but an event which occurred in France 
rendered the members of the Union more disposed to terminate matters in an 
amicable way, and both sides shortly afterwards laid down their arms. This 
event was the death of Henry IV. 

That sovereign had assembled an army of forty thousand men, chiefly old 
troops, and a more excellent train of artillery was prepared than had ever been 
brought into the field. The great Sully assured him that there were forty mil- 
lions of livres in the treasury, and promised, if the king did not increase the 
number of his troops beyond forty thousand, to supply him with money suffi- 
cient for the support of the war, without laying any new tax upon the people. 
Henry proposed to command his army in person, and was impatient to put 
himself at its head, but the queen, Mary de Medicis, appointed regent during 
his absence, insisted on being solemnly crowned before his departure. 
According to the account left by Sully, Henry was more disquieted at the 
thoughts of this ceremony than by any thing that had ever happened to him in 
his life. Besides being displeased at the delay it occasioned, he was conscious 
of an inward dread ; arising, no doubt, from the many barbarous attempts that 
had been made upon his person, the rumours of new conspiracies, and the 
opportunities which a crowd afforded of putting them into execution. He 
agreed however to the coronation, notwitlistanding these apprehensions, and 
determined to honour it with his presence. On that occasion he escaped, but 
next day, his coach being obstructed in a narrow street, a blood-thirsty fanatic, 
named Ravaillac, found an opportunity of executing a deed which he had long 
meditated. The king was going in his carriage to see the Duke of Sully, 
attended by a small party of gentlemen on horseback and a few valets on foot. 
As the weather was fine, both doors of the carriage were left open. In a nar- 
row street, adjoining the cemetery of the Innocents, it encountered on one 
side a vehicle laden with wine, and on the other a wagon filled whh hay, 
which caused some obstruction, and the king was compelled to halt. A great 
portion of the valets passed on foot into the cemetery to run more at their ease, 
and to get before the carriage to the end of the street. Of two valets, who 
alone followed the coach, one went forward to remove the obstruction, and the 
other was arranging his dress, when Ravaillac, who had had time to notice the 
side on which the king w^as sitting, mounted on the wheel of the carriage, and 
with a two-edged knife struck the king a blow between the second and third 
ribs. Henry exclaimed, " I am wounded," when the assassin repeated the 
assault, striking a blow upon the heart, which caused the immediate death of 
the king. So fierce was this parricide against the king that he repeated the 
blow again, but without effect. Surprising as it may seem, none of the lords 
who were seated in the carriage with Henry had seen him struck, and the 



CHARACTER OF HENRY IV. 75 

assassin might have escaped, had he thrown away his knife. But he remained 
fixed, as if to make himself seen, and to glory in the greatest of assassinations. 

Francis Ravaillac seems to have been a gloomy enthusiast, who had no 
great or settled object to gain by becoming a regicide. It was naturally sus- 
pected that he had accomplices, and the most dreadful tortures were inflicted 
on him to make him disclose their names. But he resolutely refused to 
purchase a respite from his intolerable agony, though he might readily 
have named innocent persons as his accomplices. The house in which he 
had lived was razed to the ground, his relations were banished the kingdom, 
and he himself was carried to the Place de Greve, w^here his right hand was 
burned off with sulphur, his limbs were torn with pincers, and melted lead, 
boiling oil, and burning rosin were poured on his wounds. The torture was 
long protracted, and the groans and struggles of the miserable culprit were 
witnessed with joy by the populace. He was finally attached to four horses, 
which, pulling in opposite directions, at length terminated his existence by 
tearing his body to pieces. Fragments of the corpse were then seized by the 
excited crowd. Portions of it were preserved, but bonfires were made in 
several parts of Paris to consume the quarters of the criminal, which were 
reduced to ashes amidst the furious execrations of the frantic multitude. 

The king, whose murderer w^as thus inhumanly punished, was of middle 
stature, active, and inured to fatigue and pain. His temperament was robust, 
and his health excellent. His forehead was bold, his eye lively and assured, 
his nose aquiline, his complexion florid, and his countenance mild and digni- 
fied. His hair and beard became gray at a very early period. " It is the wind 
of my adversity that has blanched them," said he to those who expressed aston- 
ishment at the change of colour. 

Henry was one of the ablest and best princes that ever sat on the throne 
of France, and none of her rulers have ever been more popular than he. 
Though his passion for women was his greatest weakness, and caused him 
much trouble, he never suffered his mistresses to direct his councils or influence 
him in the choice of his ministers. But his libertine example undoubtedly 
produced a bad effect upon the manners of the nation. All orders of men were 
in consequence infected with a sort of pernicious gallantry, which, though it 
did not degenerate into enervating sensuality, produced abundantly fatal con- 
sequences. Four thousand French gentlemen are said to have been killed in 
single combats, chiefly arising from amorous quarrels, during the first eighteen 
years of Henry's reign. Having been long habituated to the sight of blood, 
and prodigal of his own, Henry could never be prevailed upon strictly to 
enforce the laws against duelling.* 

In Germany, the old Emperor Rudolph embittered his last years by quar- 
relling with his family. Of all his relations, the Archduke Leopold, Bishop of 
Passau, was the only one to whom he was sincerely attached, whilst his brother 
Matthias was the object of his greatest dissatisfaction. He wished before his 

* Russel. Tiiylor. Kohlrausch. 



76 DENMARK AND SWEDEN. 

death to give the crown of Bohemia to Leopold, but the states of the kingdom, 
mistaking his intentions, supposed the march of that prince from Passau to 
Bohemia to be a preparatory step to an attack upon their religion. They there- 
fore took arms, made the Emperor a prisoner in his own palace at Prague, and 
called for aid upon the ambitious Matthias. Notliing loth, Matthias obeyed 
their call, entered the city, and compelled the unfortunate Rudolph to yield to 
him the crown of Bohemia. Of all his crowns, the only one now remaining to 
him was that of the empire, and had not death released him from his 
troubles, he would probably have been compelled to undergo the mortification 
of resigning this also, (A. D. 1612.) 

Matthias w^as now chosen his successor ; and was crowned at Frank- 
fort, on the 24th of June, 1612, with such splendour and stately pomp as 
had rarely been witnessed. He was no sooner seated on the imperial throne 
than the Protestants, to whom he had formerly been very indulgent, required 
an extension of their privileges, while the Catholics, who knew his real 
sentiments, urged upon him new restrictions. He resolved to free himself 
from the difficulty by laying aside the mask, and convincing the Protestants 
that he was their master. Meanwhile, as he w^as advancing in years, and 
declining in health, he caused Ferdinand, Archduke of Gratz, whom he 
intended as his successor in the empire, to be elected King of Bohemia. In 
order that there might be no difficulty about his succession to the imperial 
crown, both the brothers of Matthias, Maximilian and Albert, renounced all 
claim to the Austrian states, and proposed Ferdinand as their substitute. 
This family compact alarmed the Evangelical Union, and occasioned a 
revolt of the Hungarians and Bohemians. The malecontents in Hungary 
were soon appeased ; but the Bohemian Protestants, whose privileges had 
been invaded, obstinately continued in arms, and were joined by those of 
Silesia, Moravia, and Upper Austria. Thus w^as kindled a furious civil war, 
which desolated Germany during thirty years, and interested all the rest of 
Europe. 

Meanwhile, important revolutions had happened in the north of Europe. 
When the Swedes separated from the confederacy which had been formed by 
the treaty of Calmar in 1397, the sovereign whom they chose paid a merely 
nominal allegiance to the throne of Denmark. Christian II. of Denmark 
resolved to destroy the independence of the Swedes, and, having overthrown 
their ruler in battle, marched towards the capital, wasting every thing with fire 
and sword. The senate was divided about the choice of a new ruler ; but the 
conqueror allowed them little leisure to deliberate. Stockholm surrendered to 
him, and he caused himself to be crowned King of Sweden. Affi;cting cle- 
mency, Christian went to the cathedral, and swore that he would govern 
Sweden, not with the severe hand of a conqueror, but with the mild and bene- 
ficent disposition of a prince raised to the throne by the voice of the people. 
He then invited the senators and grandees to a feast that lasted three days. 
On the last day, in order to afford the king a pretext for executing his intentions, 
the Archbishop Trolle, who, though primate of Sweden, had been brought over 



GUSTAVUSVASA. 77 

to the interests of Christian, reminded Ihe king that though his majesty, by a 
general amnesty, had pardoned all offences, no satisfaction had yet been given 
to the Pope, and demanded justice in the name of his Holiness. The hall was 
immediately filled with armed men, who secured the guests ; the primate pro- 
ceeded against them as heretics ; and on a scaffold before the palace gate, 
ninety-four persons of distinction were publicly executed for defending the 
liberties of their country. Other barbarities followed ; the rage of the soldiery 
was let loose upon the citizens, who were mercilessly butchered, and the body 
of the late sovereign was dug from the grave, exposed on a gibbet, quartered, 
and hung up in various parts of the kingdom. 

One of the nobles thus slain was Eric Vasa, whose son Gustavus had pre- 
viously been carried as a. hostage to Sweden. This prince now became the 
deliverer and avenger of his country. He escaped from his confinement in 
Denmark, and concealed himself, in the habit of a peasant, in the mountains 
of Dalecarlia. There he was deserted by his sole companion and guide, who 
carried off all his little treasure. Bewildered, destitute of every necessary, and 
perishing of hunger, he entered himself among the miners, and while he sought 
bread in the bowels of the earth, he fed his soul with ambitious hopes of a 
future career of glory. Again emerging to light, he distinguished himself 
among the Dalecarlians by his lofty mien, and bodily strength and agility, and 
acquired considerable ascendency over them before they were acquainted with 
his rank. At their annual feast he made himself known, and exhorted his 
hearers to assist him in restoring the liberties of their country. They listened 
to him with admiration ; the young glowed with rage against their oppressors ; 
the aged saw signs of success in the heavens and in the direction of the winds: 
the wreath of victory appeared already on his brow, and they eagerly desired 
to be led against the enemy. He immediately attacked the governor of the 
province in his castle, took it by assault, and sacrificed the Danish garrison to 
the just vengeance of the Dalecarlians. This bright commencement was not 
dimmed by the events which followed. Gustavus saw himself everywhere vic- 
torious, and gained partisans in all parts of the kingdom. Everything yielded 
to his valour and good fortune; his popularity daily increased ; and he mounted 
the redeemed throne of Sweden amid the joyous shouts of all his subjects. 

The Nero of the North, Christian II., had made himself obnoxious by his 
tyrannies to his Danish subjects, who deposed him. His uncle Frederic, duke 
of Holstein, was chosen to succeed him. He found Gustavus firmly seated on 
the Swedish throne, and wisely concluded an alliance with him and the Hanse- 
towns. Christian II. made several ineffectual attempts to recover his throne, 
and finally died in captivity. Christian IV., one of the most prudent and 
politic princes of his age, succeeded Frederic on the Danish throne, and under 
his auspices and those of Gustavus Vasa, the reformed religion was extended 
over Denmark and Sweden. Christian IV. was distinguished among the 
northern sovereigns by his superior talents, and his zeal as a reformer of 
abuses. He extended commerce and encouraged manufactures, and was a 
judicious patron of literature and art. 

g2 



78 AFFAIRS OF RUSSIA. 

Sweden rose rapidly to be a successful rival of Denmark. This happy 
change was chiefly effected by her two great sovereigns, Gustavus Vasa and his 
grandson, Gustavus Adolphus. The latter raised Sweden to the summit of her 
greatness. He was involved in wars at his accession, A. D. 1611, and so 
extended his fame by his victories over the Russians and the Poles, that he was 
called to be the head of the Protestant confederacy against the house of Austria. 

While Denmark and Sweden were thus beginning to take a part in the 
affairs of the civilized world, Russia remained buried in barbarism and obscu- 
rity. Enslaved as they were by the Tartars, all the attempts of the Russians at 
independence ended in failure and punishment ; and though their government, 
notwithstanding, slowly acquired consistency, it was not until after the Tartar 
strength was weakened by the wars of Timourlane that they succeeded in 
throwing off the yoke. Though continually exposed to the attacks of the Poles, 
the gallant Prince Ivan Vassilievitz,* grand duke of Moscow, refused the pay- 
ment of the usual tribute to the Tartars, and expelled their merchants from his 
capital. These spirited proceedings of course brought on a war, which lasted 
twenty years, and involved the destruction of the Golden Horde and all the 
Tartar settlements. This prince extended his authority over Novogorod and 
Cassan, and died in 1505, after a prosperous reign of forty-three years. His 
son, Vassili Ivanovitz, reigned during twenty-eight years ; a period chiefly 
remarkable for wars with the Poles, and the recovery of part of Lithuania. 

Ivan the Terrible, the. fourth duke of Moscow, and the second Czar 
of Russia of that name, succeeded to the throne. Though his cruelties 
acquired for him the surname by which he is known, he laboured to civilize the 
empire which his valiant predecessors had acquired. During his reign, some 
English navigators discovered the White Sea, and were carried before Ivan, 
who not only gave them permission to trade with Russia by way of that sea, 
but offered large inducements for merchants to come thither from England. 
He also established a correspondence with Queen Mary of England and her 
successor. In the early part of his reign he established a standing army, called 
the Strelitzes, who were the first regular troops of Russia, and were trained to 
use fire-arms. 

In his reign Siberia was discovered and annexed to the Russian dominions, 
but the complete reduction of that country belongs to his son Feodor, who 
founded the city of Tobolsk. Feodor was a prince of weak intellect, whose 
government was administered by his ambitious brother-in-law, Boris Godonoff. 
This minister caused the brother of Feodor to be assassinated, and when the 
weak czar himself died in 1598, Boris usurped the throne. His tyranny caused 
the people to seek for an opportunity of revolting. It was soon afforded. A 
report was spread that Demetrius was still alive, and a young man appeared in 
Poland in that character, who gave a distinct account of the manner in which 
he had escaped from the murderers sent to destroy him. The truth or falsity 
of this story has never been ascertained. Sigismund, King of Poland, either 

* The son of Vassili. 



ASSASSINATION OF DEMETRIUS. 81 

believed his story, or affected to do so, as a pretext for dethroning the czar. 
Demetrius entered Russia with a large army of Poles and Cossacks, and was 
joined by great numbers of the Russians. A battle was fought, in which the 
pretender was victorious, and a revolution in his favour occurred in Moscow. 
Boris died of anxiety and trouble in 1604, and his son being assassinated 
during a popular tumult, Demetrius was acknowledged as the true heir to the 
throne, and crowned at Moscow. Great preparations were now made for the 
marriage of Demetrius whh the daughter of the King of Poland, but before the 
time fixed for the ceremony arrived, the new czar had made himself hated 
by the people. He totally disregarded their religious opinions, and, to their 
great horror, gave an entertainment to his guests, with dancing and music, 
within the walls of a convent. An insurrection broke out at the tolling of the 
great bell ; it was headed by a nobleman named Vassili Shuiski, who led the 
way to the palace with a crucifix in one hand and a sword in the other, fol- 
lowed by a vast armed multitude. The palace gates were forced, and 
Demetrius, after making a desperate resistance, leaped from a window, but as 
his leg was broken by the fall, he failed to escape, and was sacrificed to the 
fury of the mob. All the Poles in the city shared the same fate, and Shuiski 
was rewarded with the throne. Immediately another Demetrius appeared, and 
after his defeat two others, one supported by the Poles, the other by the Swedes. 
During seven years these pretenders kept the country in a state of civil war. 
Shuiski was deposed and imprisoned, Moscow plundered, and Novogorod taken 
by the Swedes. The whole empire seemed on the point of destruction, when 
it was saved by the patriotic exertions of a small but daring band of men, who 
chose Michael Romanoff, a descendant of the first Ivan, for czar, and succeed- 
ed in establishing him on the throne. The accession of the family of Romanoff 
' gave an entirely new character to the history of Russia, which from that time 
ceased to be considered in the light of an Asiatic and half-barbarous nation, 
and began to be recognised as one of the European states. 

By uniting Lithuania to Poland, the race of the Jagellons made that king- 
dom of some consideration in the north. (A. D. 1382.) Though the crown 
was elective, the throne continued in the possession of the same family uninter- 
ruptedly for two hundred years. Sigismund I., a contemporary of Charles V., 
was esteemed a great prince. Sigismund II. favoured the Reformation ; but 
the want of a middle order in society, which has ever been the misfortune of 
Poland, prevented evangelical principles from taking deep root in the country, 
and producing the benefits that had resulted from them in other states.* The 
male line of the Jagellons became extinct on the death of Sigismund II. in 
1572, and thenceforth we find the meetings of the electors marked with vio- 
lence and bloodshed. Though often divided among themselves, the nobles 
were always united in restricting the sovereign authority. Every sovereign, on 
his accession, was obliged to sign certain capitulations, which greatly limited 
his rule, and secured the chief powers of state to the aristocracy. Under its 
new constitution, Poland was internally weak and miserable, though some of 

* Taylor. Russell. 
Voj-. III. 11 



82 SCHAH ABBAS THE GREAT. 

its monarchs still distinguished themselves by foreign conquests, especially 
Vladislaus IV., who wrested the duchy of Smolensko from Russia. 

From the period of the taking of Constantinople in the fifteenth century, 
the Turks were a great and conquering people. In the sixteenth century, 
Selim I., after subduing Syria and Mesopotamia, undertook the conquest of 
Egypt, then governed by the Mamelukes, a race of Circassians who had seized 
the country in 1259, and put an end to the feeble government of the Arabian 
princes, the descendants of Saladin. The conquest of Egypt by Selim made 
little change in the form of its government. It professed to own the sovereignty 
of the Turks, but w^as really governed by Mameluke pashas or governors. 
Solyman the Magnificent, the son of Selim, was, like his predecessors, a great 
conqueror. The conquest of the island of Rhodes, from which the knights of 
St. John had expelled the Saracens in 1310, became an object of his ambition. 
He attacked it with a fleet of four hundred ships and one hundred and forty 
thousand men, and the Rhodian knights, after sustaining a siege for many 
months, w^ere compelled to capitulate and evacuate the island. (1522.) 
Solyman also subdued the greatest part of Hungary, Moldavia, and Wallachia, 
and took from the Persians Georgia and Bagdat. In 1571, his son, Selim II., 
took Cyprus from the Venetians, and though the latter organized a triple 
alliance with Spain and the Pope against the Ottoman power, gained the famous 
victory of Lepanto, and took Tunis, the Turks continued extremely formidable. 
Under Amurath III., 1574, they encroached upon Hungary, and subdued a part 
of Persia, and the barbarous successor of that prince, Mohamrned III., sup- 
ported the dignity of his empire. 

From his time the Ottoman poM'er declined, yielding gradually to the 
Persians, who, under Schah Abbas the Great, wrested from the Turks a large 
part of their dominions. This prince was a descendant of Haydar or Sophi, 
a religious enthusiast, who had established a new sect of Mohammedans. 
Sophi held Ali to be the successor of Mohammed instead of Omar, and 
abolished the pilgrimages to Mecca. The Persians found little difl[iculty in 
embracing a doctrine which distinguished them from their enemies the Turks. 
Ismael, the son of this teacher, enforced the new doctrines with the sword. 
He subdued all Persia and Armenia, and at his death, in 1522, left this vast 
empire to his successors. His great-grandson w^as Schah Abbas the Great, a 
prince whose despotic sway enabled him to give full effect to his able policy. 
He reconquered the territories which had fallen into the hands of the Turks ; 
he rebuilt the fallen cities of Persia, and contributed greatly to introduce a 
higher degree of civilization and art. Unfortunately for his kingdom, the 
schahs who succeeded him were weak princes. In the time of his son, Shah- 
Sesi, the Great Mogul took Candahar, and the Turks deprived Persia of Bagdat. 
(A. D. 1638.) The Persian monarchy gradually declined ; the sovereigns 
became the tools of their viziers, who governed according to their pleasure, 
until a revolution in the early part of the eighteenth century gave the throne 
of the schahs to a race of Tartar princes.* 

* Tytler. 



JAMES I. OF ENGLAND. 



83 




J A. U E 3 I. 



From the east, we turn to the west, to notice the downward pro- 
gress of the Spanish monarchy under the unhappy policy of her rulers. 
From the death of Philip II., Spain declined in power, and, notwithstanding 
the wealth of the New World was poured into her lap, her national finances 
were in the utmost disorder. Philip III. was forced to conclude a peace with 
the Dutch, and to restore its confiscated estates to the house of Orange. In an 
evil hour he complied with the dictates of his weak and despicable minister, 
Lerma, and expelled from his kingdom all the Moors, who were the most indus- 
trious of its inhabitants. This depopulation, joined to that produced by the 
mania for American colonization, and the long and destructive wars, rendered 
Spain a lifeless and enervated mass. From the languor into which it then sunk 
it has never since fully recovered, though the remembrance of its former strength 
caused it to be long terrible ; and associations were formed for restraining the 
exorbitant power of Spain after Spain had ceased to be powerful. 

In England, the reign of James I. was chiefly marked by domestic events. 
James was a prince of considerable learning and talents, but of little vigour of 
mind or political energy. By imwisely proclaiming his pretensions to unlimited 



84 



THE GUNPOWDER PLOT. 




, 1 H W A L T a. U :i A L E I G iJ . 



power, he brought his subjects to question it, and thereby made himself un- 
popular. Excited by his tyranny, the current of public opinion turned to the 
importance of enlarging the rights of the subject and retrenching the royal 
authority ; and during the reign of James, the seeds were sown of that spirit 
of popular resistance which cost his unfortunate successor his head. In 
1603, a conspiracy was discovered for elevating the king's cousin, Arabella 
Stuart, to the throne, to the exclusion of James. In this affair, the Lords Cob- 
ham and Grey, and Sir Walter Raleigh, were principally concerned. The 
former were pardoned, and Raleigh, though condemned, was reprieved. 
James afterwards excited much angry feeling among his subjects, when, after 
a lapse of fifteen years, he caused Raleigh to be executed on this sentence, on 
the plea that, by unwarrantably attacking one of the Spanish settlements in 
America, he had infringed the peace with Spartn. 

Another conspiracy, of a still more dangerous nature, was strangely per- 
verted to render James hateful to the English. This was the Catholic conspiracy 
of the Gunpowder Plot, w^hereby they hoped to destroy both the king and the 
parliament at a blow. (A. D. 1604.) It was discovered, from a circumstance 
of private friendship, on the very eve of its accomplishment ; and the principal 



CHARACTER OF JAMES I. 



85 



conspirators suffered capital punishment. Public indignation was vented 
against the Catholics ; and when James sought to mitigate its fury, his parent- 
age was recalled to memory, and his humanity ungenerously construed into 
a favour which he entertained for the religious tenets of the church of Rome. 
Unfortunately for the success of his policy, James attached himself to unworthy 
favourites. The most celebrated of these were Carr, earl of Somerset, and his 
successor Villiers, duke of Buckingham. The first was disgraced, on being 
convicted of having a share in an infamous murder. Buckingham was devoid 
of every talent as a minister, and odious to all ranks of the state. He planned 
a journey of Charles, prince of Wales, into Spain, to visit the infanta, whom 
James wished to unite in marriage with his son. Contrary to all expectation, 
this scheme proved a total failure, the treaty being frustrated on the brink of 
i:s conclusion, by the folly and insolence of the British minister. The only 
foreign military enterprise of the reign which this sovereign undertook was 
sending a feeble armament to aid his son-in-law, Frederick, in his wars in 
Germany, of which we shall come to speak more particularly in the following 
chapter. His favourite project was the complete union of the two kingdoms 
of England and Scotland, which, though it would doubtless have proved bene- 
ficial, was a measure which the violent mutual prejudices of the two nations as 
yet rendered them unable to bear. The Episcopal hierarchy was introduced 
into Scotland as a preparatory step, but it only proved the cause of future 
trouble. James I. died in 1625, in the fifty-ninth year of his age, and the 
twenty-second of his reign over the kingdoms of England and Scotland. 

" That James was contemptible as a monarch," says Russell,* '< must per- 
haps be allowed ; but that he was so as a man, can by no means be admitted. 
His disposition was friendly, his temper benevolent, and his humour gay. He 
possessed a considerable share of both learning and abilities, but wanted that 
vigour of mind, and dignity of manner, which are essential to form a respecta- 
ble sovereign. His spirit, rather than his understanding, was weak ; and the 
loftiness of his pretensions, contrasted with the smallness of his kingly power, 
only perhaps could have exposed him to ridicule, notwithstanding the ungrace- 
fahiess of his person and the gross familiarity of his conversation. His turn 
of mind inclined him to promote the arts, both useful and ornamental ; and 
that peace which he loved and so timidly courted was favourable to industry 
and commerce. It may therefore be confidently affirmed, that in no preceding 
period of the English monarchy was there a more sensible increase of all the 
advantages which distinguish a flourishing people, than during the reign of this 
despised prince." 



.m>y. 



* Modern Europe. 










PRACUE 



CHAPTER IV. 



® i;- e ^ i) i 1 1 JJ T r n x g ' 



ar. 




HE young prince Ferdinand 
had no sooner become lord 
over the states of Bohemia 
than he commenced reforming 
them by restoring the ancient 
form of divine service. Main- 
taining the principle that the 
sovereign of a country should 
tolerate but one established 
religion, he compelled those 
who would not join the ancient 
faith to expatriate themselves. 
These severe measures produced the most serious consequences throughout the 
territories of Ferdinand ; yet in his harsh proceedings the young prince com- 
bined so much resolution with temper, and evinced so much determined 
seriousness, that the disturbances excited by discontent were immediately 
quelled, and tranquillity was maintained without recourse to the scaffold, with- 
out shedding blood. 

At the time when the Emperor Rudolph still held both the imperial crown 
and that of Bohemia, the Protestant states availed themselves of his feeble con- 
dition to obtain, in 1609, the permission for the free exercise of their religion, 
the establishment of their own consistory, and other important privileges. 
This document is called the letter of majesty. Since the time when Ferdinand 
was nominated as King of Bohemia, great activity and boldness were observed 
by the Protestants to characterize their Catholic fellow-subjects. The reports 

(86) 



COUNT THU RN. 



87 



which were everywhere circulated threatened the most arbitrary measures 
against the Protestants. " The letter of majesty," in the language of the 
Catholics, " was now no longer valid, it having been extorted from King 
Rudolph." Many vague hints of future executions, confiscations, and perse- 
cutions, were dropped by the malicious, and, augmenting in number, and 
assuming a more definite form as they passed from place to place, they excited 
increasing terror and dismay in the minds of all. 

At length, an alleged infraction of the provisions of the letter of majesty 
gave a pretext for open hostilities. The Protestants claimed the privileges of 
that letter for all their brethren in Bohemia, while the Catholics would have 
restricted them altogether to the Protestant states. Under the provisions of the 
letter, the Protestants residing within the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Prague 
built a church in the small town of Clostergrab, while those in the territory of 
the Abbot of Braunau also erected one in the latter place. Unwilling to tolerate 
their existence, the archbishop and abbot procured an imperial decree, by vir- 
tue of which the church in Clostergrab was razed to the ground, and that at 
Braunau was closed. As several of the inhabitants of Braunau rose in opposi- 
' tion to this arbitrary act, they 

were thrown into prison. 
An Italian nobleman. Count 
Matthias of Thurn, who had 
long resided in Bohemia, 
took up the office of Cham- 
pion of the Evangelists, and 
summoned the Protestant 
states to meet in Prague. 
Several petitions were for- 
warded to the Emperor, be- 
seeching him to remove the 
causes of complaint, and to 
command the liberation of 
the imprisoned citizens of 
Braunau. 

The imperial reply was 
harshly worded. It charac- 
terized the resistance of the 
people of Braunau and Clostergrab as a revolt ; condemned the states for having 
occupied themselves with the affairs of the citizens, and for holding illegal 
meetings, and seeking by the false reports they made of the danger to which 
the letter of majesty was exposed, to alienate from the Emperor the love and 
fidelity of his subjects ; and ended with a threat that the matter should be 
investigated, and each should be treated according to his merits. This reply 
gave cause to anticipate the worst results, and so excited did the minds of ihe 
Protestants become, that, when it was reported that the document had not 
issued from Vienna, but had been prepared in Prague itself, they vented their 




COUNT THURN. 



88 THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 

indignation upon those who were named as its authors. The two Catholic 
privy counsellors, Martinitz and Slavata, were said to have superintended it, 
and they, with one of their sycophants, Fabricius, were precipitated by the 
enraged deputies of the states, headed by Count Thurn, from the window of the 
council hall of the castle of Prague. Though the depth of their fall was more 
than fifty-six feet, they escaped with life, because they happened to fall upon 
an immense pile of paper shavings and soft materials, and were afterwards for- 
tunate enough to escape the bullets that were fired at them as they were led 
away. The Bohemians attempted to justify themselves ; but prudently made 
preparations for self-defence. The castle was garrisoned with their own troops; 
all persons in office took the oath of fidelity to the states, the Jesuits were 
expelled the country, and a council of thirty noblemen was established for the 
government of the land. The leader and director in all these measures was 
Count Thurn, whose whole soul was devoted to the cause. 

Ferdinand levied soldiers in every quarter, and manifested a determination 
to suffer no interruption in his career from the indecision of the Emperor. The 
Bohemians took possession of every city in their country save Budweis and 
Pilsen, the latter of which was soon captured for them by Count Ernest of 
Mansfeld. This famous general was one of the most remarkable heroes of a 
heroic age, who, without territory or people, by the mere celebrity of his name, 
gathered together an army of brave soldiers, and led them for hire or for booty 
whithersoever his prowess was needful. He had been raising troops for the 
Duke of Savoy against the Spaniards, but the duke requiring them no longer, 
gave him permission to serve in the cause of the Evangelical Union. That body 
despatched him with 3000 men to Bohemia, where he appeared unexpectedly 
and wrested from the imperialists the important city of Pilsen. 

Meanwhile, Matthias died, and was succeeded by Ferdinand. (1619.) 
The Bohemians, however, refused to acknowledge the new Emperor, whose 
hostile intentions were but too unequivocally expressed. They formally 
deposed him, and chose Frederic V,, elector-palatine, for their king. This 
prince, by allowing himself to accept this dignity, assumed a position which 
would have ranked him among the great, noble, and enterprising of the 
earth, had he possessed the strength of mind necessary for a successful prose- 
cution of the work. But in the hour of trial he failed. The energy and 
presence of mind which he must have who would wear a hazardous crown, 
were never characteristics of the unfortunate Frederic. By a skilful policy 
Ferdinand gained over to his cause all the wavering, and Frederic found him- 
self left with scarcely any auxiliary but the Evangelical Union. 

All Germany now resounded with the noise and bustle of warlike prepara- 
tion. The members of the Union were not more active than those of the 
League, and the whole country resembled a grand recruiting depot. At length, 
on the 3d of July, 1620, the two armies met at Ulm, where, to the surprise of 
the people, they entered into a compact, in which the forces of the Union 
engaged to lay down their arms, and both parties pledged themselves to pre- 
serve peace and tranquillity. This defection of the Unionists from his cause, 



DEFEAT OF THE PROTESTANTS. 89 

though it preserved them from destruction at the hands of their more powerful 
enemy, laid the young king Frederic open to the attacks of the combined forces 
of the League and the Emperor. He could only rely in this emergency upon 
the small resources of his own house, and the troops of Bohemia. This 
courageous and faithful people had, two hundred years before, defended their 
country against all Germany combined, and they might have acquitted them- 
selves equally well at this time, had not Frederic failed to gain their confidence. 
His life was careless and his time wasted in extraneous matters, and his mind 
without that inward dignity of self-possession and calm reflection so necessary 
at a moment so portentous. His father-in-law, James I. of England, more 
occupied with scholastic disputes than measures of policy, neglected to accord 
him support ; Holland and Venice, Denmark and Sweden, acknowledged him 
king, but afforded him no assistance, and he himself neglected preparations for 
defence until the Elector of Saxony occupied Lusatia. 

About the same time the valiant and politic head of the Catholic League, 
Duke Maximilian of Bavaria, appeared before the gates of Prague with an army 
of 50,000 men. As the imperialists advanced, the Bohemians took up a posi- 
tion in the Weissenberg, (White Mountain,) near the city. But the Austrian 
and Bavarian troops advanced to give battle before their entrenchments were 
completed. Thus deprived of protection against the superior forces of the 
enemy, the Bohemians were routed in the short space of one hour. His army 
beaten and dispersed, and his artillery taken, all Frederic's hope vanished ; he 
fled with the principal Bohemian lords, and the capital and the kingdom sub- 
mitted to the victors. The defeated king first sought refuge in Silesia, then in 
Holland. Unable to defend himself, he was stripped even of his hereditary 
dominions, the palatinate on the Rhine being conquered by the Spaniards under 
Spinola, and the upper palatinate by Maximilian of Bavaria. 

For three months after the victory Ferdinand took no steps in relation to 
Bohemia. At the end of that time, when many of the fugitives had returned, 
forty-eight leaders of the Protestant party were suddenly taken prisoners, and 
on the same day, and in the same hour, twenty-seven of them were condemned 
to death and executed. The property of the remainder, with that of the 
absentees, was confiscated ; the Protestant clergymen were gradually all 
banished the kingdom, and finally it was declared that no subject would be 
tolerated in Bohemia who did not adhere to the Catholic faith. It is calculated* 
that the number of families who at this time were forced to leave Bohemia, 
amounted to thirty thousand ; to whom for the most part Saxony and Branden- 
burg afforded a refuge. Thus were the hopes of the Catholics realized ; the 
election of Ferdinand to the empire annihilated the letter of majesty. 

Though given up as hopeless by the elector himself, the cause of Frederic 
arose anew by the strong arm and the invincible boldness of Ernest of Mans- 
feld. After having left Pilsen, this chief planted his standard in the Upper 
Palatinate, and succeeded in gathering around it twenty thousand valiant sol- 

* Kohlrausch. 
Vol. m. 12 h2 



90 



THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 




■ERNEST OF MANSFELD. 



diers. With these he dared to contend against a power which made Europe 

tremble, the combined forces of Aus- 
tria, Spain, and the League. He 
appeared suddenly in the Lower 
Palatinate, to the terror of the Span- 
iards ; and in Alsace, by the plunder- 
ing of which he satisfied his rapacious 
followers. The famous Bavarian 
general, John Tserklas Tilly, was 
forced to take the field against him, 
but by rapid and well-planned 
marches, Mansfeld deluded his anta- 
gonist, and everywhere spread deso- 
lation among the Catholic bishoprics. 
His proud example was followed by 
others. George Frederic, Margrave 
of Baden Durlach, collected a strong 
army, and took the field in favour 
of the palatine house. He would 
not fight as a prince of the German 
empire, lest his land should be made 
to suffer for it, but as a knight and champion in that which to him appeared 
most just ; accordingly, before he entered into action, he transferred into his 
son's hands the government of his country. When united with Mansfeld, Tilly 
was no match for him, but when they separated, the Bavarian general defeated 
him on the field of Wimpfen, on the 8th of May, 1622. 

His ill-success, however, did not deter others from following his example. 
Duke Christian of Brunswick came forward to support the cause of Frederic, 
and, after a variety of adventures, joined himself with Mansfeld. United, they 
entered Alsace, extended their march to the provinces of Lorraine, and made 
Paris itself tremble as they threatened to march thither to the aid of the 
Huguenots. After devastating all the neighbouring provinces, they marched 
into Holland, and joined the Netherlanders in their struggle against the Spanish 
power. The war might now have been terminated had the Catholic party acted 
with moderation ; but Ferdinand caused the territories and title of the elector 
palatine to be conferred upon Maximilian of Bavaria, and intimated his intention 
of persevering in the course he had entered upon. He recognised in the suc- 
cess that had attended his measures, an intimation from God that he ought to 
persevere, and the defeat by Tilly of Christian of Brunswick, who had recom- 
menced operations, added another to the causes of his self-gratulation, and 
seemed a pledge that his confidence would be crowned with continued success. 
The terrified Protestants felt bound to exercise all the energy which they pos- 
sessed, rather than wait in inaction for the infliction of any punishment to which 
they might be subjected. Lower Saxony, especially, perceived the danger, 
took up arms, and chose for the conductor of the war Christian IV. of Denmark, 



WALLENvSTEIN. 



91 




FERDINAND II. 



a young and energetic prince. He promised them considerable aid ; England 
resolved to espouse their cause vigorously, and France assumed an attitude 

hostile to Austria. The war in 
Germany, on the Catholic side, 
had been carried on almost 
entirely by the League ; but 
as the preparations of the Pro- 
testants became now more ex- 
tensive, the League demanded 
supplies of troops from the 
Emperor. Ferdinand himself 
wished to furnish an army, in 
order that the house of Bavaria 
should not take all the credit 
of the operations to itself; but 
he needed the necessary means 
to effect this object, and was 
at a loss how to raise and 
equip the number of men re- 
quired. Under these difficul- 
ties an individual presented 
himself, who proposed to carry 
on the war by his own resources, 
and single-handed. 
Albert of Wallenstein, or more properly Waldstein, was descended of a 
noble Bohemian family. He was born in 1583, of Lutheran parents, but they 
dying when he was very young, he was sent by his maternal uncle to a Jesuit 
college at Olmiitz, and was there educated in the Catholic faith. He attached 
himself to the Archduke Ferdinand, and set out, in 1617, at the head of 200 
cavalry, raised at his own expense, to aid him in an expedition against Venice. 
Ferdinand, by way of remuneration, gave him the rank of commander of the 
militia in Moravia. During the early troubles of Bohemia, he fought in the 
cause of Ferdinand, afterwards took arms against Bethlen Gabor of Transyl- 
vania, who had raised pretensions to the crown of Hungary, and filled the 
station of quartermaster-general in the imperial forces under Boucquoi, when, 
with Maximilian of Bavaria, he gained the battle of Weissenberg. After this 
he made another campaign against Bethlen Gabor, w^ho had defeated the 
imperial generals Dampierre and Boucquoi, made him retreat, and obliged 
him to accede to terms of peace and to relinquish his claims to the Hungarian 
crown. During the war he had furnished and supported several regiments at 
his own cost, and as an indemnity for these expenses, and for the devasta- 
tion w^hich his estates had suffered, he received, in 1622, the territory of Fried- 
land in Bohemia, with the title of duke. Besides this, he purchased for a large 
sum of money the confiscated estates of about sixty Bohemian noblemen, and 
thus became possessed of immense wealth. While Tilly was in command at 



92 THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 

the head of the League, Wallenstein lived retired on his estates, although he 
felt much discontented at finding the war carried on without him. Now, how- 
ever, when he found the Emperor desirous of raising an army, he offered his 
services to levy troops of his own for the Emperor, taking upon himself nearly 
the whole cost. He stipulated only that he should have unlimited control over 
them, and possess the exclusive power of appointing officers and collecting a 
force not of 20,000, but of 50,000 men. Such an army, he said, would soon 
be able to maintain itself. He obtained the full authority required, and in a 
few months afterwards the army was raised and completely equipped. 

The character of Wallenstein is ably given by a learned historian of Ger- 
many, as follows. He was born to command ; his acute eye distinguished at 
the first glance, from among the multitude, such as were competent, and he 
assigned to each his proper place. His praise, from being but rarely bestowed, 
animated and brought into full operation every faculty, while his steady, 
reserved, and earnest demeanour secured obedience and discipline. His very 
appearance inspired reverence and awe ; his figure was lofty, proud, and truly 
warlike ; his jet-black hair was cut close above his high and commanding fore- 
head, while in his bright piercing eye was expressed profundity of thought, 
combined with gravity and mystery — the characteristics of his favourite 
studies and researches in the language of the stars and the labyrinths of the 
planets. 

Before continuing the narration of the history of Germany, it may be well 
to recur to the affairs of Western Europe. At his death Henry IV. of France 
left the throne to his infant son, Louis XIIL, during whose minority the govern- 
ment was badly administered by his mother, Mary de Medicis. All the poli- 
tical maxims of Henry IV. and his able minister were disregarded, and Sully, 
finding that he could be of no service to the nation while his honest counsels 
were disregarded, retired into private life, and occupied himself in writing the 
memoirs of his beloved king, which have contributed to render the names of 
both so famous. 

Mary de Medicis, when she came to marry Henry, brought with her from 
Italy a lady named Leonora Galigai, who was soon after married to an Italian 
courtier named Concini. This couple, both ambitious and intriguing, acquired 
great influence over the queen-regent ; and though he made no pretensions to 
military ability, Concini caused himself to be made Marshal of France, with 
the title of Marshal D'Ancre. The marshal and his lady became so haughty 
and repulsive that they were universally disliked ; the principal men of the 
kingdom bore with chagrin the power of the favourites, and repeated insurrec- 
tions and civil wars distracted the realm. They had, however, gained too 
great an ascendency at court to be easily displaced. An intimate friendship 
was concluded with Spain, and cemented by a double marriage, between Eliza- 
beth, the king's sister, with the son of Philip III., and Louis himself with Ann 
of Austria. (A. D. 1612.) The Protestants now experienced manifold dis- 
favour, and frequently engaged in hostilities with the Catholics, who were 
themselves irritated by the increasing disorder in the administration. The 



ASSASSINATION OF MARSHAL D'ANCRE. 95 

declaration of the majority of the king, in 1613, made no change in affairs ; he 
was but twelve years of age, and his mother and her favourites still retained 
their power. By the influence of the Marshal D'Ancre, the ministry was changed, 
and Richelieu, Bishop of Lugon, was made secretary of state. 

The enemies of the marshal became every day more numerous and more 
exasperated. The falconer whom the marshal had placed about the king's 
person, Charles D'Albert de Luynes, had made great progress in gaining the 
affections of the young prince. He had lately succeeded in making the king 
regard the discontented princes as being less his enemies than they were those 
of the marshal, and caused Louis to remark with what care D'Ancre had, up 
to that time, withdrawn him from public affairs, and in a manner made him a 
prisoner. He taught him that he was king; that he might rule, and that the 
only obstacle to his royal will was this favourite, this Italian to whom his 
mother had confided power. His representations produced the intended 
effect ; the minister became odious to the king, and his removal was resolved 
upon. This first act of authority by which Louis XIIL announced his intention 
to reign, was highly characteristic of his irresolute and feeble character. As 
king, he could refuse to listen to the counsels of the minister chosen by his 
mother ; he could have removed him from his office, or, if he were guilty, have 
brought him before the bar of the parliament, but this required a resolution 
which was too great for the firmness of the king ; he preferred to recover his 
power by a miserable intrigue, to gain possession of the reins of state by vio- 
lence, to plot with the companions of his youth the assassination of the marshal. 
Accordingly, on the night of the 24th of April, 1617, as D'Ancre was entering 
the Louvre to visit the queen-regent, the Marquis de Vitry, captain of the 
king's body-guard, approached the all-powerful minister and informed him 
that the king wished to see him, at the same time pointing the way in an 
authoritative manner with his staff. The attendants of the marshal drew their 
swords, but D'Ancre was immediately shot by pistols in the hands of De Vitry's 
accomplices, and fell dead upon the drawbridge of the Louvre. At the same 
instant Colonel D'Ornano, who awaited the issue of the affair in a court of 
the chateau, announced the death of his victim to the king, who joyfully 
exclaimed, " Now I am a king indeed ; thanks be to God, my enemy 
is dead." 

The death of the marshal was followed by the execution of his consort, 
and the queen-mother herself was banished to Blois. Luynes now became 
all-powerful, and rose to the dignity of constable. Richelieu, Bishop of Lugon, 
shared the disgrace of his patroness, Mary de Medicis ; but having contrived to 
arrange matters between her and the king, he obtained for himself a cardinal's 
hat, and a place in the privy council, where his great talents soon acquired 
their proper influence. After the death of Luynes he became prime minister, 
and had no sooner got the administration into his hands than he commenced 
putting into execution three mighty projects : viz., to reduce the power of the 
turbulent French nobles ; to abase the rebellious Huguenots ; and to resist the 
encroachments and lessen the influence of Austria. His first step was to nego- 



96 THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 

tiate a treaty of marriage between Charles, Prince of Wales, and Henrietta of 
France, sister of Louis XIII., in order to preserve amicable relations with 
England. He also negotiated between the two crowns and the United Pro- 
vinces a treaty of alliance, which brought on hostilities with Spain. For a 
time, Richelieu found his attention confined almost solely to France. Besides 
the Huguenots, he had a powerful faction at court to oppose. Not one prince 
of the blood was his friend ; Gaston, duke of Orleans and brother of Louis 
XIII., was his declared enemy; the queen-mother was jealous of him; and 
the king himself more attached to him from fear than affection. But he 
knew^how to ^rush_ opposition Jbygrapplingjvi A it ; he triumphed over every 
obstacle, discovered and dissipated every conspiracy in the very moment of 
its formation, and finally made himself absolute master of the king and the 
kingdom. 

Returning to Germany, we find Christian of Denmark unable to withstand 
the superior forces which the Emperor and the League w^re able to bring into 
the field. Wallenstein marched with his new army, in the autumn of 1625, 
through Suabia and Franconia into Lower Saxony, routed a body of armed 
peasantry near Gottingen, and advanced to the districts of Halberstadt and 
Magdeburg. More serious occurrences marked the campaign of 1626. 
Mansfeld marched along the Elbe against Wallenstein, was defeated on the 
bridge of Dessau, and then boldly directed his course towards Silesia, in order 
to join Bethlen Gabor and carry the war into the Austrian dominions, whither 
Wallenstein, to his great regret, was forced to follow him. After a most ha- 
rassing and difficult march he arrived in Hungary, but he was badly received 
there, inasmuch as he had not brought with him the sums of money expected 
by the prince. Pursued by Wallenstein, his retreat cut off, and without the 
means of procuring supplies in such a remote country, he was forced to sell his 
artillery and ammunition, and disband his soldiers. Then crossing Bosnia and 
Dalmatia, he proceeded with a small suite towards Venice. Thence he 
intended to repair to England, in order to procure the money which was 
necessary to his future operations. But on arriving at the village of Urakowitz, 
near Zara, his nature sank beneath the superhuman struggles and fatigues he 
had to encounter, and he breathed his last on the 20th of November, 1626, in 
the forty-sixth year of his age. When the noble warrior felt the approach of 
death, he caused himself to be clothed in his military coat and his arms, and 
thus equipped, standing supported by the arms of two friends, he patiently 
awaited the final moment of his mortal career. 

In the same year his friend, Duke Christian of Brunswick, also died, and 
thus the Protestants were deprived of their best leaders. Christian of Denmark 
was unable to replace them, for in him were wanting all that warlike spirit and 
energy so necessary in a commander. Thus, though Lower Saxony was 
greatly relieved by the retreat of Wallenstein, King Christian was unable to 
defend it against Tilly ; but was completely defeated by him on the 27th of 
August, at Lutter, near Barenberg, in Hanover, and lost all his artillery, 



CHRISTIAN OF DENMARK DEFEATED. 



97 




CHRISTIAN OF DENMARK ENTERING ■WOLFENBUTTEL. 

together with sixty ensigns.* Christian narrowly escaped with his life: attended 
by thirty wounded and bleeding officers, he fled from the field, and late in the 
afternoon of the battle day arrived, despairing and exhausted, at Wolfenbuttel. 
In 1627, Wallenstein marched back through Silesia, crossed Brandenberg 
and Muhlenberg, and with Tilly entered Holstein, in order to force Christian 
of Denmark to abandon Germany altogether. The whole of that country, 
Silesia and Jutland, were overrun and fearfully devastated, and Christian was 
forced to take refuge in his islands. Wallenstein also increased his immense 
private possessions by purchasing from the Emperor the duchy of Sagan and 
the territory of Priebus in Silesia. 



III. 



-13 



* Kohlrausch. 
J 



98 THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 

Wallenstein, considering his victories as steps to still more brilliant gran- 
deur, had gradually increased his army to 100,000 men, and he continued by 
enlistments to swell this already superior force ; an unexampled military band 
for that as:e, a fearful multitude for the countries which were doomed to its 
support. Under pretext of the Danish war, Wallenstein began to take a firm 
position on the shores of the Baltic, and besieged the well fortified city of 
Stralsund. Mecklenberg had been previously conquered, the dukes of this 
country put under the ban of the empire for their alliance with the King of 
Denmark, and Wallenstein received Mecklenberg in consideration of the debt 
due him from the Emperor. He thus became a prince of the empire. 

Well garrisoned and provisioned, the citizens of Stralsund boldly bid him 
defiance, and resisted his attacks with determined courage and perseverance. 
Wallenstein swore to compass the fall of the city ; he advanced in person 
against it, and repeatedly assaulted the walls ; but the citizens taught him to 
respect their invincible courage ; and after having remained several weeks 
before the walls, and lost twelve thousand men in his many desperate assaults, 
he was forced to withdraw without accomplishing his object. 

By his imprudence and excess, Ferdinand now precipitated himself from 
the summit of victory and power to which his generals had raised him, and 
became the author of a renewed war, which added nineteen years to the eleven 
which had already spread fire and the sword over Germany. At the solicitation 
of the Jesuits, he published the famous edict of restitution, commanding the 
Protestants to restore all the ecclesiastical benefices of which they had taken 
possession since the treaty of Passau, in 1552. All the Protestant princes 
would lose considerably in power and wealth if the edict were put into execu- 
tion. Hence there was a general outcry against the Emperor and his edict. 
Some submitted, others remonstrated ; the Protestants were completely 
paralyzed, the Catholics filled with exultation. Imperial commissioners were 
sent to decide on the claims of the bishops and monks to restitution ; the exe- 
cution of the decree was intrusted to Wallenstein, whose intolerable tyranny 
produced increasing indignation, and excited the complaints and murmurs of 
both parties. The army of Wallenstein spread universal ruin, respecting as it 
did neither friends nor foes. Catholics nor Protestants. Right and justice were 
everywhere violated, and the Emperor's own brother, Leopold, wrote him a 
long letter, in which he gave a dreadful and harrowing description of the 
pillage, burnings, murderous outrages, and other shameful oppressions 
inflicted by the imperial troops upon the peaceful inhabitants. 

Ferdinand could not resist the unanimous voice of complaint thus urged, 
and as now the w^hole body of princes, headed by Maximilian of Bavaria, 
insisted that Wallenstein should be deprived of the chief command, he gave 
his consent to their wishes, and conferred that office upon Tilly. The problem 
was now to be solved whether the proud and mighty chief would obey the 
summons, or turn his victorious arms against his former allies. To the surprise 
of all he yielded, saying that he "by no means complained against or 
reproached the Emperor, for the stars had already indicated to him that the 



WALLENSTEIN DISMISSED. 



99 




■WALLENSTEIN DISMISSED 



spirit of the Elector of Bavaria held its sway over that of the Emperor ; but in 
discharging his troops, his imperial majesty was rejecting the most precious 
jewel of his crown." He now withdrew to his duchy of Friedland, establish- 
ing his seat of government at Ghschen, which he considerably enlarged and 
beautified. (A. D. 1630.)* 

The Emperor speedily repented of this step. The danger which hovered 
over the Protestant church, and the attempt of Wallenstein to strengthen and 
extend the cause of Austria and Catholicism by usurping the coast of the 
Baltic, brought upon the grand scene of this eventful period the great Gustavus 
Adolphus of Sweden. Secretly urged by some of the discontented Protestant 
princes, he published a declaration of war against the Emperor, and, after 
having captured the important island of Rugen, landed in Germany. (A. D. 
1630.) 



Sporschil's Dreissigjiihrige Krieg. 



100 THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 

For a while the princes of the empire hesitated to unite with him in 
defence of their religion, but a terrible catastrophe hastened their decision. 
The city of Magdeburg, which from the commencement had shown great zeal 
in the cause of the reformed religion, was now the first to throw herself into 
the arms of the preserver of religious liberty. They urgently invited him to 
direct his march towards the Elbe, promised to throw open their gates to him, 
and enlisted a number of soldiers for his service. Gustavus, who perceived 
the great importance of such a grand depot, accepted their offers with eagerness, 
and immediately proceeded to meet their wishes. 

Tilly, however, was equally aware of the advantage which Gustavus would 
derive from the occupation of this city, and used all diligence to make himself 
master of it before the king's arrival. Seconded by his brave general Pappen- 
heim, he laid siege to it in March, 1631, and succeeded in taking it by storm, 
after a siege of six weeks. May 10th. Pappenheim led the assault. He suc- 
ceeded in mounting the rampart, while the brave commandant Falkenberg was 
shot dead as he hastened to the point of danger. Abandoning the walls, the 
citizens hurried to their homes, and there defended themselves by firing from 
the windows upon the enemy, while the females threw stones and other missiles 
from the roofs of the houses. The conquerors showed no mercy to the people. 
Men, women, and children, the aged and the young, all were massacred alike ; 
the very infants at the breast being seized, stabbed, and hurled into the flames 
which consumed the city : the scene being protracted from ten o'clock in the 
morning during the whole day and night. Every possible cruelty, and torments 
of every description were resorted to on this dreadful day ; the insatiable sol- 
diers devoting all their energies to the performance of the sanguinary work. 
Some of the officers, touched with compassion, repaired to Tilly, who had 
remained in the camp, and requested him to issue orders for the cessation of 
carnage, but he replied, " No, no ! let them go on for another hour, and then 
come to me again ; the men must have some reward for their dangers and 
fatigue." By ten in the evening, all that remained of this ancient and magni- 
ficent city was the cathedral, one convent, and a few stray fishermen's cabins 
on the Elbe ; all else was a pile of cinders. Thirty thousand human beings 
had been sacrificed to appease the wrath of Tilly : a name henceforth never 
mentioned but with malediction, never hereafter coupled with glory or good 
fortune. On the fourteenth of May, Tilly rode through the smoking city and 
caused the Te Deum to be sung in the cathedral. To the Emperor he wrote, 
that since the destruction of Troy and Jerusalem such a siege had not been 
witnessed. He spoke the truth. One of the richest and greatest cities of 
Germany had been annihilated ; more than six thousand bodies were floating 
in the Elbe, and but four hundred of the whole population remained. Yet in 
the cathedral was sung the Te Deum. 

This unhappy day at Magdeburg, with Tilly's invasion of Saxony, decided 
the wavering Protestants. They entered themselves without reserve as allies 
of Gustavus, and concluded with him a firm alliance, offensive and defensive. 
The rulers of Pomerania, Brandenburg, Hesse, and Saxony, all acceded to the 



GUSTAVUSADOLPHUS. 101 

league, and Richelieu, who had actively shared in the formation of the original 
plan, secured for the confederates the co-operation of France. Strengthened 
by the accession of these new allies, Gustavus marched to the relief of Leipsic, 
determined to stake the war upon a single battle, and by a grand action secure 
the esteem and confidence of Germany. Tilly advanced to meet him, and the 
enemies encountered each other in the fields of the \-illage of Breitenfeld, Sep- 
tember 7th, 1631. Tilly began the battle in the full confidence of success, 
and the bad conduct of the Saxons appeared for a time to have lost the young 
king the victory. The charge of the imperialists overthrew them, and they fled 
from the field. At the same time Pappenheim, the best cavalry officer of his 
day, threw himself with the elite of his command on the right wing of the 
Swedes ; but Banner opposed to his attacks an invulnerable wall, and seven 
times repulsed his efforts to break the line. Having abandoned the pursuit of 
the Saxons, Tilly directed his attack upon the uncovered flank of the Swedes ; 
but the royal hero averted the danger by his skilful movements, and the impe- 
rialists expended their fury in vain against their invincible enemy. The new 
management of war practised by Gustavus completely baffled his aged adver- 
sary ; he saw his plans and calculations fail of success ; for the first time in his 
life his confidence deserted him, and his mortification at having met with a 
superior genius embarrassed his actions. Gustavus noticed his hesitation ; whh 
the rapidity of thought he made an attack upon the enemy's artillery, and Tilly 
Avas recalled to himself by the necessity of covering his troops from the fire of 
their own guns. But the battle was decided ; the ranks of the imperialists 
were already in disorder, were routed ; 7000 lay dead on the field of battle, 
and Tilly himself was in great danger. A Swedish cavalry captain struck him 
several times on the head with the handle of his pistol, and would have killed 
him had he himself not been shot by an imperial officer. The imperial general 
escaped with several wounds, and, exhausted in body and dejected in spirits, 
reached Halle, where he was joined by Pappenheim and the miserable remains 
of his army. One thousand Swedes and two thousand Saxons had fallen.* 

This victory, says Kohlrausch, proved for Gustavus the grand foundation 
upon which was based his reputation as a warrior throughout Germany, and 
from that moment was excited that veneration — almost amounting to adoration — 
for his person and character. For this was a period, as in all extraordinary 
epochs of history, when, properly speaking, public opinion was all-powerful ; 
when the faith, confidence, respect, and enthusiasm produced in the minds of 
the people by the actions of one man, were sufficient to establish him in their 
favour ; and whoever knew how to avail himself of this moral force must be 
certain of success. All now turned towards the star thus ascending from the 
north ; and he was enthusiastically received by zealots both in religious and 
superstitious faith. Prophecies, miracles, and dreams were all made to refer 
to the great Gustavus ; and wherever he appeared, the Protestants received him 
as their deliverer with indescribable transports of joy, and truly, during the 

* Kohlrausch, Sporschil. Rotteck. 
i2 



102 



THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 



V,/ ^^] 




TILLY MORTALLY WOtTNDED. 



whole period of the world's existence, the royal presence of a king was never 
so gratefully honoured and reverenced as w^as that of the heroic and nobly-born 
champion of the Protestant faith, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. 

All the members of the Evangelical Union joined the victorious hero ; the 
measures of the League were disconcerted, and the whole country between the 
Elbe and the Rhine, a hundred leagues, full of fortified towns, occupied with 
Protestant forces. Gustavus knew well how to profit by victory, a knowledge 
often more valuable than that of conquering. From the Rhine he turned back 
to the east, in order to make Bavaria, where the dangerous Maximilian ruled, 
feel the scourge of war. Tilly, who had assembled another army, more nume- 
rous than that of Gustavus, disputed with him the passage of the Lech. But 
every thing yielded to the arms of the youthful warrior, and he crossed the 
river in spite of all opposition. Tilly was wounded in the knee by a cannon 
ball in the beginning of the action, and fell from his horse ; he was conveyed 
to Ingolstadt, followed by Maximilian. After taking possession of Augsburg, 
Gustavus formed the siege of that place, which defended itself bravely. Tilly 
encouraged the garrison until his death, which happened twenty-five days after 
he received his wound. He was in the seventy-third year of his age, of middle 
height, and very thin, strongly resembling the Duke of Alva, under whom he 
had served in the Netherlands. He was a stern, iron-hearted man, who boasted 



BATTLE OF L U T Z E N. 103 

that he had never known the feeling of love or affection ; yet he possessed a 
firm and incorruptible character and undoubted abilities as a general. 

In his distress, the Emperor now had recourse to Wallenstein, whom he 
restored to command with unlimited powers. As soon as he had planted his 
banner, a powerful army arose, as if by magic, around this formidable chief. 
Within three months he was at the head of a stronger force than that which 
Tilly commanded at Leipsic, 40,000 men ready for battle. He moved with 
uncommon slowness, first drove the Saxons out of Bohemia, and then turned 
his arms against Gustavus, who hastily entrenched himself in the neighbourhood 
of Nuremberg. Wallenstein, at the head of sixty thousand men, constructed a 
strongly fortified camp in sight of the city. After three months spent in watch- 
ing his adversary, Gustavus determined to attack him ; but he stormed his 
entrenchments the whole day until nightfall in vain, and was obliged to retire 
with great loss. August 24, 1632. Anxious to retrieve his fame, the Swedish 
monarch sought occasion to decide the campaign by a great action, and accord- 
ingly oflTered battle at Lutzen. About eleven o'clock in the morning, after 
a short prayer, the king mounted his horse and led his troops to the front of 
the imperialists, who were well entrenched on the paved road from Lutzen to 
Leipsic, and stationed in the deep trenches on each side. A deadly cannonade 
saluted the Swedes ; but they marched boldly forward, leaped the trench, and 
forced Wallenstein's troops to retreat. 

Meanwhile Pappenheim had arrived at the scene of action with his cavalry, 
and the battle was renewed with fury. The Swedish infantry retired behind 
the trenches, and Gustavus hastened to the spot with a company of horse to 
render them assistance. He rode at full speed considerably in advance, 
to observe the force of the enemy ; a few of his attendants only, and Francis, 
duke of Saxe Lauenburg, following him. His short-sightedness led him too 
near a squadron of the imperial cavalry ; he received a shot in his arm, so that 
he nearly fell to the ground powerless, and just as he was turning round to be 
led away from the scene, he was shot a second time in the back. He fell from 
his horse, which had likewise been shot in the neck, and was dragged by the 
stirrup some distance along the ground. The master of the horse in the service 
of the Duke of Saxe Lauenburg immediately killed the cavalier who had fired 
the last shot ; but the duke himself, it would seem, abandoned his royal cousin 
upon a charge of Piccolomini's cuirassiers. A faithful page, Leubelfing, 
endeavoured to raise his master up, but he was himself shot. The imperial 
horsemen then killed the king with several wounds, and plundered his body, 
but the page survived till five days after the battle. The wounded horse of the 
king returning without his master, brought to his friends the sad news of his 
fall, and incited them to revenge his death. Under the heroic Duke Ber- 
nard of Weimar, they rallied, and pushed forward over the trenches upon the 
ranks of the enemy. Their desire for revenge prompted them to superhuman 
efforts, which the imperialists were totally unable to withstand ; Piccolomini, 
covered with blood, had a fourth horse killed under him, and the great Pappen- 
heim fell, mortally wounded. The ranks of the imperialists were broken, the 



104 



THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 



^p v^iS;^^yVv.^ 




DEATH OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHDS. 



cry " We are lost ! Pappenheim is dead ! the Swedes are upon us !" resounded 
through the field, and Wallenstein ordered a retreat, leaving his artillery in 
possession of the victors. A thick fog and the approach of night only prevented 
the Swedes from pursuit ; but they spent the night on the field of battle. 

Wallenstein marched into Bohemia, instead of wintering in Saxony, as he 
had intended ; thus in deed acknowledging the Swedes to be victorious, whilst 
in a letter to the Emperor he represented the battle as undecided, and Ferdi- 
nand ordered a Te Deum to be sung in all his cities. On the day following, 
the Swedes searched among the thousands which strewed the wide battle field 
for the body of their beloved king: it was at length found among many others, 
so disfigured by the hoofs of horses, and covered whh the blood which issued 
from eleven wounds, as scarcely to be recognised. Thus terminated the career 
of this Alexander of his age. An impartial adventurer. Count Gualdo, a Vene- 
tian and a Catholic, who spent many years in the imperial and Swedish armies, 
thus describes the glory of Sweden. Gustavus was tall, stout, and of such a 
truly royal demeanour, that he universally commanded veneration, admiration. 



DEATH OF WALLENSTEIN. 



105 



love, and fear. His hair and beard were of a light brown colour, his eye large, 
but rather near-sighted. War had great charms for him, and from his earliest 
youth honour and glory were his passion. Eloquence dwelt upon his tongue. 
He spoke, in addition to the German, the native language of his mother, the 
Swedish, Latin, French, and Italian languages ; and his discourse was ever 
agreeable and lively. There never was a general who was served with so 
much cheerfulness and devotion as Gustavus. He was of an affable and 
friendly disposition, readily expressed commendation, and noble actions were 
indelibly fixed in his memory ; on the other hand, excessive politeness and 
flattery he hated, and if any person approached him in this way, he never 
trusted him. 

The death of Gustavus produced 
great changes in the political state of 
Europe. Frederic, the elector-palatine, 
believing all his hopes of restoration 
blighted, died broken-hearted ; the 
Protestant confederates, deprived of a 
head, soon split into factions ; and the 
Swedes, overwhelmed with sorrow for 
the loss of their beloved sovereign, saw 
his throne filled by a princess but seven 
years of age. But the council of 
regency appointed to protect the mi- 
nority of the young Queen Christina, 
intrusted the management of the Ger- 
man war to the chancellor Oxenstiern, 
a statesman of the highest order. The 
regent kept the allies of Sweden to- 
gether with great energy and ability, 
gave a formidable aspect to the Protest- 
ant alliance, and by means of his able 
generals, the duke of Saxe Weimar, 
Banner, and Horn, prosecuted hostili- 
ties with vigour and success. 
A totally unexpected event added to the confidence of the allies ; the 
removal of the terrible Wallenstein from the scene of action. Since his retreat 
to Bohemia he had remained inactive, maturing his plans for his own advance- 
ment. He was suspected of aiming at sovereign power by Ferdinand, who 
certainly appears to have had grounds for his suspicions. The powerful war- 
rior, ruled by astrological visions, needed only resolution to accomplish what- 
ever he might purpose, but he suffered the favourable moment to escape, and 
the Emperor discovered his designs. The danger was urgent ; the Emperor 
timid ; Wallenstein stood surrounded whh the thunders of war, and Ferdinand 
dared not attempt to bring him to a legal trial. The Emperor therefore had 
recourse to the dishonourable expedient of assassination. 
Vol. hi. 14 




MONUMENT TO OUSTAVUS A. T) O L P H U S , 
NEAR LDTZEN. 



106 THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 

It was determined to include in his fall his brother-in-law, Count Kinsky, 
and his brave and devoted friends, the field-marshals Illo and Terzka. The 
great victim was meanwhile tormented by attacks of the gout, to such an extent, 
that he was obliged to have pieces of raw flesh cut out of the excoriated foot, 
at the very time that he was almost impelled to throw himself at once into the 
arms of the Union, by the ill-concealed hostility of his immediate enemies. 
Piccolomini declared against him, and advanced towards Pilsen, where Wallen- 
stein was posted. He quitted that place, however, on the 22d of February, 
accompanied by only ten followers, and borne along in a litter, suffering excru- 
ciatingly from his disease. At the end of the second day's journey he reached 
the citadel of Eger, where he took up his quarters in the market-place, in the 
house of the burgomaster, Pechhelbel. On the following evening, Terzka, Illo, 
and Kinsky proceeded to the citadel to sup with Colonel Gordon, the command- 
ant. While they were at table, thirty dragoons, commanded by Captains Deve- 
reux and Geraldin, suddenly burst into the hall from the ante-room, and falling 
on their victims pierced them to death. 

Immediately after the completion of this deed, Devereux led a party of 
his assassins to complete the work by slaying Wallenstein. The general had 
been engaged with his astrologer Seni, who announced to him that the danger 
which impended over him had not yet passed ; but he nevertheless dismissed 
the reader of the stars, and laid himself upon his bed. Directly Devereux, 
with six of his miscreants, entered the house, unchecked by the guard, who 
supposed that he came with reports for Wallenstein. An outcry in the street 
aroused the noble warrior. He rose from his bed, opened the window, heard 
from the next house the wailing of the Countesses Terzka and Kinsky, who had 
just learned the fate of their husbands, and inquired its cause from the sentinel. 
At that moment the murderer Devereux stood at the door of the chamber. 
The sentry, when he entered the outer passage with his assassins, had placed 
his finger on his lips as a sign for him to make no noise, as the general slept. 
The ruffian cried out, " Friend, this is the time for noise," and demanded the 
key of the door. It was however locked from within. They commenced a 
vigorous assault upon it, broke it in pieces, and rushed into the room. The 
chief stood erect, with his hand resting on a table between the two windows, 
in complete undress and barefooted, just as he had sprung out of bed. " Art 
thou the traitor," demanded Devereux, " that wouldst lead the imperialists 
over to the ranks of the enemy, and tear the crown from the head of his impe- 
rial majesty? Thine hour has come." Wallenstein stood calm and still, not 
deigning to answer. " Thou must die," shouted the murderer a second time. 
Wallenstein opened his breast, received the fatal blow, sank to the earth, and 
died without a word, without a groan. Horrified at such an end of the career 
of their mighty chief, the hardy soldiers stood several minutes pale and speech- 
less, then turned and fled with all speed from the room.* 

Thus silent and reserved till the hour of his death, all the profound and 

* Sporschil's Dreissigjiihrige Krieg. 



WALLENSTEIN. 



107 







mysterious thoughts and sentiments of his soul remained hidden from the world, 
and a veil of obscurity M^as cast over his whole life and actions. He was one 
of those men whose deep-laid plans and motives it is impossible to fathom, 
and of whom little or nothing can be said in explanation of their views or 
ideas. After his death his estates were confiscated, and a large portion of them 
was transferred to his chief enemies and his murderers. The greater part of 
his possessions, however, were retained by Ferdinand himself. His landed 
property alone was estimated to be worth fifty millions of florins. His widow 
received the principality of Neuschloss, and his daughter Elizabeth, his only 
surviving child, was shortly afterwards well married. In order to justify the 
assassination of this prop of his empire, Ferdinand published a voluminous 
document, containing all the accusations brought against the duke, which for 
a long time continued to convey the most false and unjust ideas and opinions 
of the character of that extraordinary man. 

Ferdinand, king of Rome and son of the Emperor, succeeded Wallenstein 
in the chief command, and opened his career with one of the most brilliant 
achievements of the war. He marched against the Swedish army with a force 
superior in numbers and discipline, when the aged and prudent Count Horn 
would have retreated, but his colleague, Bernard of Weimar, with the ardent 
daring of youth, insisted on making a stand, and receiving the enemy's attack. 
Accordingly an action took place near Nordlingen in Franconia, in which, 
owing to their bad position, their reduced numbers, and the misunderstanding 
between the generals, the Protestants were defeated. They fought eight hours 



108 THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 

with the most determined courage, and only yielded when nearly cut to pieces. 
Twenty thousand of their number were either slain or made prisoners ; General 
Horn himself being a captive. Duke Bernard retreated towards the Rhine with 
the remainder of his army. Ferdinand followed up his victory by successful 
negotiation ; he concluded a treaty with all the Protestant princes, except the 
Landgrave of Hesse, at Prague, and thus threw the whole weight of the war 
upon Sweden and France. 

Richelieu ruled the latter country with a rod of iron , alike hated by the 
nobility and the people, and feared by the king, he nevertheless held firmly the 
reins of government, and made every attempt to ruin him recoil upon the heads 
of its originators. Jealousy of Gustavus had prevented him from cordially 
uniting against Ferdinand : and Oxenstiern was afterwards unwilling to give 
him any influence in Germany. But the battle of Nordlingen rendered a change 
of policy necessary. Richelieu had subdued and triumphed over the Protest- 
ants by the capture of Rochelle. This end effected, he turned the arms of 
France against the Emperor of Germany, the King of Spain, and the Duke of 
Savoy, in an attempt to secure the succession of Mantua to theDukeof Nevers. 
In 1631, the treaty of Chierasio terminated the war, by giving to France its 
ancient influence in Italy, and several important fortresses on the frontiers, and 
destroying the Spanish supremacy in the peninsula. The battle of Nordlingen 
announced the arrival of the moment when he could without fear put into full 
operation his great plan of crushing Protestantism in France on one hand, while 
on the other he rendered its advocacy a cloak with which to cover his designs 
against the power of Austria. Jealousy of Gustavus, whom he suspected of 
aiming at the sovereignty of Germany, was another motive for action. But the 
battle of Lutzen having terminated the career of that conqueror, and that of 
Nordlingen having defeated any ulterior designs which Oxenstiern might have 
entertained, he thought that he might now proceed to sell the services of France 
at a dear rate. He accordingly concluded a treaty with Oxenstiern, agreeing 
to take an active share in the war on condition of receiving possession of 
Philipsburg and the province of Alsace. He also concluded treaties with the 
Dutch republic and the Duke of Savoy, proclaimed war against Spain, and in a 
very short space of time equipped five armies to act at once in Germany, Italy, 
and the Netherlands. The fortune of war now turned against the imperialists, 
the Duke of Saxe Weimar carried the arms of Sweden in triumph, and Banner 
restored their former lustre by a triumphant victory gained over the Elector of 
Saxony at Wittstock, near Mecklenberg. 

Henceforth, however, the war only presents a series of gloomy and dis- 
heartening scenes ; for wanting as it did a leader of noble genius, influenced 
by motives of a worthy and honourable nature, its whole character assumed an 
ignoble and mercenary stamp. The royal hero, whose elevation of soul shed 
a brilliant lustre over all around him, and who was inspired by his religious 
faith, combined with the glory and honour of his nation, was now no more ; 
the impenetrable, mysterious, and all-powerful general who alone could venture 
to make a stand against the forces of Sweden, had also been snatched from the 



BANNER AND TORS TENSON. 109 

realization of his dark projects; while those who now had the command of the 
imperial armies, although brave and not without distinction, were only second 
in rank of genius, and wholly incapable of aspiring to the elevated thoughts 
and feelings of their predecessors. In this war it was egotism alone by which 
the parties were swayed ; consequently, however remarkable its operations may 
appear, they must still be regarded in the light of ordinary events. The death 
of the Emperor Ferdinand II., and the accession of his son Ferdinand III., 
made little alteration in the state of the war ; the victorious leaders of the con- 
federates invaded the hereditary dominions of Austria, but in the midst of their 
triumphant career Bernard of Weimar was seized with sudden illness, and died, 
18th July, 1639. He was thirty-nine years of age, and the youngest of eight 
equally brave and warlike brothers. He himself declared his belief that he was 
poisoned, and his chaplain confirmed this suspicion in the sermon which he 
preached on the occasion of the funeral. If this were the fact, it is to be attri- 
buted to Richelieu, for immediately after the duke's death the army was visited 
by several French agents, who negotiated for the services of the army, which 
they purchased for large sums, together with the places in its possession. 
Three regiments of Swedes alone refused to sell themselves to the French, and 
they marched out of the place with beat of drum and unfurled banners to join 
the main body of their array. Thus the valour of the German troops conquered 
for the French the important fortress of Brisach, with Rhinefeld, Roteln, and 
Friburg. 

Banner, the Swedish general, died in 1641, at Hallerstadt, after committing 
dreadful devastation in Bohemia and other lands. He sent to Stockholm more 
than 600 standards which he had taken from the imperialists, and his cruel and 
merciless conduct caused his campaigns to be more bloody and oppressive than 
any others during the war. While he was in Bohemia there were often more than 
one hundred small towns, castles, and villages burnt during the night, and one 
of his principal officers, Adam Pfuhl, boasted that he had with his own hands 
set on fire eight hundred different places in that unhappy country. When he 
himself came to his death-bed in Thuringia, and desired the last services of a 
minister of religion, so wasted and forlorn was the country that none could be 
found for many miles. 

He was succeeded by Torstenson, who, though so weak in body as to be 
always carried in a litter, was nevertheless one of the most active generals of 
the war. Under his command was fought the greatest battle of this last period 
of the war, on almost the very ground where Gustavus gained the victory of 
Leipsic. 

He had been followed during a retreat by Piccolomini, and determined to 
rid himself of the presence of his enemy by a desperate effort. He attacked 
the imperialists with fury, and Piccolomini was defeated, with the loss of 
20,000 men, forty-six pieces of artillery, and nearly two hundred ensigns. 
Torstenson and his successor Wrangel afterwards marched from place to place, 
spreading terror and devastation over all Germany, and often menacing Vienna 
itself with a siege. The petty princes gradually concluded armistices with the 

K 



110 THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 

invaders ; and the Emperor was finally left to contend single-handed with his 
successful enemies. The French generals Turenne and Conde fought against 
the imperialists along the Rhine, and enabled Wrangel to subject all Bavaria. 
The arms of France were equally successful in Spain, where Colioure and Per- 
pignan were reduced. A characteristic anecdote is related of Richelieu, in 
connection with the fall of Perpignan. The great minister had just detected 
and punished a conspiracy when this place was taken, and, though on the 
verge of the grave and scarcely able to hold a pen, he conveyed to Louis the 
intelligence of both events in the following haughty and laconic note : " Sir, 
your enemies are dead, and your troops in possession of Perpignan." 

The death of Richelieu and his master, Louis XIIL, placed upon the 
throne of France the infant Louis XIV., whose prime-minister was Mazarin, a 
worthy successor of him whose genius had so ably controlled the destinies of 
France. He continued the policy which had been founded by Richelieu, the 
war was resumed with masterly activity, and, after several vicissitudes, the 
triumph of the confederates was so decided that the Emperor was forced to 
solicit terms of peace. In 1640, at the diet of Ratisbon, the Emperor had 
consented that congresses for peace should meet at Munster and Osnaburg, 
and the preliminaries to such a meeting were signed by the Emperor and the 
King of Spain in 1643. The changing course of the war, which was actively 
continued, varied the negotiations, the Emperor, so long as he had any hope 
of better fortune in war, being very sparing of concessions. The thunders of 
the Swedish artillery, however, overcame his resistance, and the instruments 
of peace were signed on October 24, 1648, at Munster. 

The demon of the Thirty Years' War, to use the language of a German 
historian, was finally conjured, but Germany, swimming in blood and covered 
with ashes, could hardly believe the news that its misery was at an end. The 
interests of Sweden were regulated at Osnaburg, those of France at Munster ; 
the tenor of both instruments were the same, respecting those conditions which 
the two crowns insisted on in common, and the whole is known to the world 
as the peace of Westphalia. It became a fundamental law of the empire, and 
the basis of many subsequent treaties. By its provisions France obtained the 
sovereignty of the three archbishoprics, Metz, Toul, and Verdun, the city of 
Brisach and its dependencies, the territory of Sundgau, the important fortress 
of Philipsburg, and as much of Alsace as had belonged to Austria. Besides 
this, it forced Germany to destroy a great number of fortifications along the 
Upper Rhine. 

Thus all those places which had served as the bulwarks of Southern Ger- 
many, fell through this peace into the hands of the hereditary enemy of the 
empire. The French envoys boasted that France had never concluded a peace 
upon such advantageous terms. Poor Sweden, however, was represented by 
John of Oxenstiern, the chancellor's son, a proud but inexperienced statesman, 
and by Adler Salvius, a man open to bribery. In consequence she was forced 
to content herself with five millions of crowns, the sees of Bremen and Verdun 
on the Weser, Western Pomerania and Stettin, the island of Rugen, and the 



THE TREATY OF WESTPHALIA. Ill 

city of Wismar, in Mecklenberg ; a territory the greater part of which was very 
poor and much devastated. The Elector of Brandenburg, who ought to have 
received all Pomerania, obtained only the eastern portion of that country ; as 
an indemnification for the remainder, however, he received the archbishopric 
of Magdeburg, and the bishoprics of Halberstadt, Minden, and Kanim, secular- 
ized. In like manner the sees of Schwerin and Ratzeburg were erected into 
lay principalities, and given to the Duke of Mecklenburg in lieu of the city of 
Wismar. Hesse Cassel, the firm ally of Sweden, though it had suffered no 
loss, received the abbey of Hersfeld, a portion of the country of Schaumburg, 
and six hundred thousand rix-dollars. 

Thirteen days after the death of Gustavus Adolphus, the elector-palatine, 
Frederic V., had died broken-hearted ; his son Charles Lewis, however, sup- 
ported the claims of his house. The Elector of Bavaria refused to give up the 
Upper Palatinate and the electoral dignity, and they were confirmed to Maxi- 
milian and his descendants. The Lower Palatinate and his other patrimonial 
estates were restored to Charles Lewis, and in lieu of the fifth electorate a new 
one was created purposely for him, the eighth. All the other princes and 
states of the empire were re-established in the lands, rights, and prerogatives 
which they enjoyed before the troubles of Bohemia in 1619. The republic of 
Switzerland was declared to be a sovereign state, exempt from the jurisdiction 
of the empire ; Spain was forced to acknowledge the independence of the 
Netherlands, and Germany obliged to free it from all obligation of fealty. 

In regard to religion, the pacification of Passauwas confirmed in its fullest 
extent ; and it was agreed that the Calvinists should enjoy the same privileges 
as the Lutherans. The Catholics and Protestants, comprehended as two reli- 
gious bodies, were to stand in relation to each other in equilibrium as to powers 
and rights. The imperial tribunals and the deputations of the empire were 
therefore to be composed of an equal number of members from the two religious 
bodies ; but in the assemblies of the states, consequently in the imperial diets, 
this equality being impossible, the decisive power of the majority of votes for 
religious matters, and in general for cases of separation in respect to religious 
parties, was to be abolished. 

In the instrument of Osnaburg, Spain was expressly designated as an ally 
of the Emperor and a participant of the peace. It comprised also England, 
Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Lorraine, Venice, the Netherlands, Switz- 
erland, and Transylvania. Yet the Pope protested against the peace, and war 
between France and Spain was continued with various success until the treaty 
of the Pyrenees, in 1659. 

Thus ended this terrible war, after having endured for one whole genera- 
tion. Unhappy Germany, overwhelmed by adventurers from all parts of 
Europe, presented a most sad and mournful picture : everywhere the land was 
devastated, the cornfields trodden down or lying bare, the towns laid waste, 
and piles of ruins and ashes where formerly blooming regions had greeted the 
eye. The unfinished work of the sword had been completed by famine, misery, 
and disease. In the first years of the war its ravages were so extensive and 



112 THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. 

destructive in the greatest part of the empire, that the general misery seemed 
intolerable ; subsequently it scourged also those countries previously spared, 
and accumulated a measure of wretchedness over all for which language has 
no expression. Hundreds of thousands had perished on the field of battle, but 
these were taken off in moments of enthusiastic ardour, while the victims were 
enjoying the whole force of their vital power, and their destruction cannot be 
regarded as the greatest evil of the war. But the more lingering and painful 
sufferings which came in the train of the war, contagion, plague, famine, and 
all the attendant horrors, — these horrors and miseries which left its victims to 
the anxious and painful contemplation of the gradual approach of death, — 
which overwhelmed those who could take no active share in the movements 
of the age, women, children, and old men, — which cut off all the enjoyments, 
all the hopes of life, and infused into the germ of a new generation a principle 
at once poisonous and destructive of strength and courage, — these formed the 
curse of the war, and destroyed two-thirds of the entire population. Germany, 
drenched whh blood and filled with ruins, was in danger of falling into com- 
plete barbarism, or becoming a great desert. This was the effect of the manner 
of carrying on the war, which Mansfeld first put into practice, afterwards 
brought by Wallenstein to a most fearful extension, and observed after him by 
all the other chief generals. War itself was made to support war, and friend 
and enemy consumed the substance of the land with boundless profusion. 
Leaders and soldiers, personally uninterested in the cause, brought from other 
lands to wage war for pay and for plunder, neglected no opportunity of 
demanding plunder and pleasure as a reward for their labours. The traces of 
the devastation then effected are still found in many regions of the land, and 
the eclipse which Germany has suffered from the other states of Europe in 
refinement, welfare, and art, may safely be attributed to the sufferings of the 
Thirty Years' War. 





C n A. H. L E S I . 



CHAPTER V, 



'gi. Jj J 15 ira g I i g i) M n? !fc © I tt t i e n. 




AMES I. of England died in 1625, and was succeeded 
by his son, Charles I., who was now twenty-five years 
of age. One of the first acts of the young king was the 
. formation of an alliance with France, by marrying the 
princess Henrietta Maria, the Catholic daughter of 
Henry IV. of Prance. This was an unfortunate step, 
inasmuch as the two eldest sons of the king and queen, 
though educated in the Protestant faith, were so influenced by their mother 
that they ultimately became Catholics, a result which led to the final expulsion 
of the house of Stuart from the throne, in the person of James II. Besides this, 
the proposed marriage of Charles with Mary, the infanta of Spain, being broken 
off abruptly, Brhain was thrown into a war wdth that country, and the king 
soon after embarked in a needless conflict with France. To supply the 
expenses of these continental wars, the king had recourse to Parliament, but 
was met there by so many complaints about his government, and by such strong 
demonstrations of that ardent desire for civil liberty which the imprudence of 
his father had awakened, that he deemed it necessary to revive the system of 
benevolences. This was an expedient which had been resorted to by other 
sovereigns, particularly by Elizabeth, of compelling the subjects to grant to 
Vol. hi. 15 k 2 '^^^^ 



114 THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION. 

the sovereign gifts, or, as they were called, benevolences, and also to furnish 
ships for carrying on war, at their own charge. Such a measure could hardly 
be tolerated in the age of Charles; and his attempt to revive it spread discon- 
tent. The commons, fearing that the king would become independent of the 
parliament, embraced every opportunity to embarrass his measures ; assailed 
the arbitrary rights he had assumed, and presented him with a Petition of Right, 
or second Magna Charta, for replacing and permanently fixing the privileges 
of the people, particularly their exemption from arbitrary taxes and imprison- 
ment. With great difficulty the king was prevailed upon to give his sanction to 
this bill, A. D. 1628 ; but he soon after became so incensed at the opposition 
of the parliament, that he dissolved it, and resolved never to assemble another 
until he saw signs of a more compliant disposition in the nation. (1629.) He 
governed from this time for eleven years without a parliament, in the most 
arbitrary manner, and with continual violations of constitutional laws. He 
supplied the want of parliamentary subsidies by arbitrary imposts, among 
which the ship money has become the most famous, through the patriotic 
opposition of John Hampden ; and he resorted to every kind of extortion, 
especially by fines, by granting odious monopolies, and by forced loans. 

The unpopularity of Buckingham, the royal favourite, had been a great 
source of trouble. About the time of the dissolution of parliament, Buckingham 
was assassinated at Portsmouth, and the king resolved to be in a great degree 
his own minister. The political animosities were not a little aggravated by 
religious disputes. When the ecclesiastical jurisdiction was wrested from the 
Papal See, the people of England had submitted to a jurisdiction no less arbi- 
trary in the prince, and all affairs relative to the government of the church and 
the public conscience were subject to the absolute will of the king. Under 
the direction of the crown, an ecclesiastical tribunal, the High Commission 
Court, was instituted, and conformity to the established ceremonies w^as enforced 
by its judges by fines and imprisonment. 

There existed in the church, as early as the beginning of the seventeenth 
century, a religious sect which pretended not to any separate worship or disci- 
pline. They frequented no dissenting congregations, because uniformity of 
religion was esteemed absolutely necessary to the support of all government. 
But they maintained that they themselves were the only pure church, that their 
principles ought to be established by law, and that none others should be tole- 
rated. They thought the English reformation incomplete, and, deeming that 
the errors of the Romish church had not been wholly forsaken, they wished for 
the simpler forms of worship which Calvin and his immediate followers had 
established in Germany, and to which his illustrious disciple, John Knox, had 
converted almost all Scotland. Many of the Puritans, as these reformers were 
called, had more justifiable reasons for their discontent. Regarding the eccle- 
siastical sovereignty of the monarch as dangerous to civil liberty, they desired 
to transfer a portion of the royal authority to parliament. A small sect, called 
the Arminians, had also appeared in England, which rejected the doctrines of 
predestination and absolute decrees, and, in return for the royal favour, incul- 



THE COVENANTERS. 



115 




COSTDMK OF 



P U B I T A N . 



cated passive obedience and unconditional submis- 
sion to princes. Hence the preachers of these doc- 
trines came to be regarded by the patriots of the 
house of parliament as no better than Popish priests, 
and both were voted enemies to the state. 

The ministers of Charles were of a character to 
increase the difficulties under which he laboured. 
The chief of these were Wentworth, earl of Straf- 
ford, and Laud, archbishop of Canterbury; the first, 
doubly odious as a deserter from the popular party ; 
the second, who directed the ecclesiastical and many 
civil affairs, a man of learning and virtue, but a 
high churchman, zealously set on the exaltation of 
the priesthood, and on imposing on the obstinate 
Puritans, by the most rigorous measures, new cere- 
monies and observances unknown to the church of 
England. Under the influence of these unworthy 
servants, and in direct violation of the petition of 
right, Charles levied tonnage, poundage, and other 
taxes, suspended the penal laws against Catholics 
upon the payment of a stipulated sum, and gave such 
extensive jurisdiction to the arbitrary tribunals, the 
Star Chamber and the High Commission, that the ordinary constitutional 
administration of justice almost entirely ceased. 

While England was agitated by these innovations, a formidable outbreak 
was produced in Scotland by an attempt of Laud to introduce there a liturg}' 
similar to that used in the church of England. " The Solemn League and 
Covenant," a bond of confederation for the preservation of the national religion, 
was concluded by the Scots, and the episcopate which Laud would have forced 
upon them was formally rejected by the synods of Glasgow and Edinburgh. 
Richelieu, an enemy to Protestants nowhere but in France, encouraged the 
Covenanter* and supplied them with money. Charles, fearful of the result of a 
war, was forced to conclude a treaty with the Covenanters at Berwick, which 
proved merely a suspension of hostilities. His misfortunes had now fairly 
commenced ; his civil and religious tyranny rallied all his enemies under one 
sacred banner and overthrew his throne. Destitute of resources, the king 
called a parliament, hoping that it would support him m the suppression of the 
Scottish rebellion, and grant him the necessary supplies. But this parliament 
acted in the spirit of those which preceded it, and was dissolved in like manner. 
The Scotch invaded England, and defeated the disaflfected array of Charles, 
who called a fifth parliament, famous in history as the Long or Bloodthirsty 
Parliament. This body had no sooner assembled than it raised a series of 
complaints against the king and his ministers. Wentworth, earl of Strafford, 
was accused of high treason, and condemned by both houses, the consent of the 
less passionate upper house being extorted by the menaces of the seditious 



116 



THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION. 




populace. In like manner, the reluctance of the king to sacrifice his favourite 
was overcome by his fears, and Strafford, after a resolute defence before the 

tribunal of his enemies, was led to execution. 
At the same time Laud was arrested and im- 
prisoned, and Charles forced to sign a bill 
which deprived him of the right to dissolve par- 
liament. A formidable insurrection in Ireland 
added to the confusion ; political wrongs, un- 
feelingly inflicted, were ferociously avenged, 
and the massacre of an immense number of 
Protestants read to Charles an awful lesson 
of the effects which oppressive laws produce 
on the human passions. 

The troubles in Ireland were artfully 
employed by parliament to increase the hatred 
against the king, who was represented as the 
author of scenes which he really deplored and 
abhorred. In 1642, parliament presented to 
him a paper called the " Remonstration of the State," drawn up wdth much bitter- 
ness, and containing a long list of grievances, old and new, real and pretended. 
This, being spread among the people, increased the fire ; the position of the king 
daily became worse, and he resolved upon war. He set up his standard at 
Nottingham, having inscribed on it the words, "Give unto Caesar his due." 
He was supported by many of the nobility and gentry, more skilled in arms 
than the parliamentary troops. But the merchants, yeomen and farmers, the 
sinews of the country, joined with his enemies. The parliamentary party had 
also the advantage of enthusiasm and numbers ; it had the capital, the great 
cities, the ports, and the fleet. In the counties of the north and west, the 
royalists held sway ; in those of the east, middle, and south-east, more 
populous and rich, the parliament ruled. Such was the commencement 
of those terrible wars of Cavaliers and Roundheads, as the court party and 
the Puritans were respectively designated, the former from the rank of 
their leaders, and the latter from their fashion of wearing the hair closely 
cropped. 

The supreme command of the parliamentary troops was at first conferred 
upon the Earl of Essex, the son of Elizabeth's favourite and victim. Next to 
Charles, the chief royalist commander was his nephew, Prince Rupert, a brave, 
able, and rash soldier of fortune, whose unscrupulous conduct, which would 
better have befitted a bandit than an honourable warrior, caused him to be known 
among the English people by the name of Prince Robber. On Sunday, the 23d 
of October, 1642, the combatants first met fairly in the field of battle at the 
base of Edgehill, in Warwickshire. That part of the royalist army which was 
commanded by Prince Rupert defeated their immediate opponents, and the 
prince led his followers in pursuit entirely out of the battle field as far as a 
neighbouring village, which they began to plunder. Meanwhile Essex, with the 



DEATH OF HAMPDEN. IH 

right wing of the parliamentary troops, had continued the fight with such suc- 
cess that Charles saw his main body — the defenders of his standard— routed. 
They fled precipitately away, leaving the standard in the hands of the enemy, 
and many of their best officers wounded or prisoners. The royalists, however, 
rallied on the top of the hill until Prince Rupert returned with his admirable 
soldiers, flushed with booty and conquest. He had now to sustain an impetuous 
attack from the forces which he had supposed to be totally defeated. In this 
indecisive manner ended the first contest of the civil war, at a cost of no less 
than four thousand lives. 

Many influential men now strove to effect an accommodation ; and they 
were so far successful as to obtain a suspension of hostilities on the part of the 
parliamentarians. But Charles, whose bad faith eventually proved his ruin, 
used the opportunity thus afforded him for treachery by attempting to surprise 
London. In the early part of 1643, the shires lying in the neighbourhood of the 
metropolis were incessantly annoyed by Rupert and his cavalry. Essex had 
extended his lines so far that every part was vulnerable, and the active and enter- 
prising prince surprised posts, burned villages, swept away cattle, and was 
beyond the reach of pursuit before a force sufficient to encounter him could be 
assembled. Essex was politically timid, and conducted his military operations 
under the feeling that a great victory was scarcely less to be dreaded than a 
defeat. But Hampden, who had possessed boundless influence in parliament, 
now commanded a regiment in the field, and afforded a striking contrast to the 
sluggishness of his superior by his bold and rapid movements. In the council 
he had shown that no man better knew how to value and how to practise mo- 
deration ; in the field he laboured to teach his fellow-soldiers that the essence of 
war is violence, and that moderation in war is imbecility. In the language of 
Clarendon, when he drew the sword, he threw away the scabbard. The troops 
loudly condemned the languid proceedings of Essex, and all the eager and 
daring spirits in the parliamentary army were eager to have Hampden at their 
head. Had his life been prolonged, the supreme command, in all probability, 
would have been intrusted to him. But, in the words of a contemporary, it was 
decreed that at this conjuncture, England should lose the only man who united 
perfect disinterestedness to eminent talents ; the only man who, being capable of 
gaining the victory for her, was incapable of abusing that victory when gained. 

On the 17th of June, Rupert left Oxford on a predatory excursion ; on the 
morning of the following day he dispersed a party of parliamentary troops at 
Postcombe, then flew to Chinnor, burned the village, killed or captured all the 
troops who were posted there, and prepared to hurry back with his booty and 
prisoners to Oxford. Hampden had notified Essex of the impending danger, 
and he now requested that general to send a force to cut oflT the retreat of the 
invaders, while he marched at once to meet them. At Chalgrove he encoun- 
tered the royalists, and a fierce skirmish ensued, in which Hampden was mor- 
tally wounded by two bullets. His troops gave way when he fell, and 
Rupert returned unmolested to the king's head-quarters at Oxford. The last 
hours of Hampden were devoted to the dictation of letters to the authorities, 



118 THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION. 

warning them of the errors which they were committing, and conjuring them to 
exhibit a more active and resolute spirit. The grief and alarm of his party at his 
loss was most signal ; it was a greater blow than the defeat of their army in the 
north by Newcastle, which almost immediately followed. He had left none 
his like behind him ; no man so religious, none possessed of that prudence, 
judgment, valour, temper, and integrity which so eminently characterized him. 

Yet there still remained in his party a man, Oliver Cromwell, the cousin 
of Hampden, in whom that statesman had long since discovered, under a coarse 
and extravagant exterior, talents so great and commanding, that they were 
destined to gain for their possessor the admiration of all Europe ; talents equal 
to all the highest duties of the soldier and the prince. Throughout the whole 
of his career he was characterized by a majesty of demeanour, which is indelibly 
impressed upon all his portraits, and which was the result of confidence in his 
powers, derived from the test of experience, and the influence of the lofty 
position he attained. Shortly before the present time he is thus described by 
the royalist, Sir Philip Warwick. << I came one morning into the House, well 
clad, and perceived a gentleman speaking, (whom I knew not,) very ordinarily 
apparelled ; for it was a plain cloth suit, which seemed to have been made by 
an ill country tailor ; his linen was plain, and not very clean ; and I remember 
a speck or two of blood upon his little band, which was not much larger than 
his collar ; his hat was without a hat-band ; his stature was of a good size ; his 
sword stuck close to his side ; his countenance swollen and reddish ; his voice 
sharp and untunable ; and his eloquence full of fervour," 

Such was Oliver Cromwell, who now, emerging from an obscure position 
in the parliamentary army, came upon the stage, and quickly brought a change 
over the aspect of affairs. The mere military men of the day were strangely 
bewildered by his successes. He had had no previous experience in warfare ; 
had not made it his study ; had no particular taste for it. He was besides a 
man of mature age, forty-three, and could no longer be supposed to possess 
that plastic quality of mind which readily adapts itself to an entirely new state 
of things. But he nevertheless trained his own regiment into such a state of 
military perfection, that the bravest and most skilful royalist troops were unable 
to compete with it ; checked the victorious army of Newcastle, scattered like 
chaff the levies that were coming to the earl's assistance ; gained a victory near 
Grantham, and saved the parliamentary general, Willoughby, from destruction 
at Gainsborough ; all in his first brief campaign. Superior numbers, however, 
arrested his progress, and compelled him to retreat. The queen in the west, 
Newcastle in the north, and Charles himself in Oxford and the surrounding 
midland districts, supported the royal cause with marked success. The tide 
of fortune soon changed. Fifteen hundred of the royalists fell in a defeat 
which the king's party suffered at Newbury, among them many officers of rank, 
and a still greater calamity was an act brought about by the exertions of the 
patriot, Sir Harry Vane, the merging of the National Covenant of the Scots 
into the Solemn League and Covenant, by which the English parliamentarians 
and the Scotch covenanters were united. 



DEATH OF PYM. 



119 




While the negotiations for this treaty were in progress, Pym, who had for 
a long time been the leader of parliament, sunk under the weight of his labours. 
His exertions for some time before his death often left him scarcely three hours 

of the four-and-twenty for repose. He had 
firmly supported the rights and franchise of 
the Commons in the parliaments of 1614 and 
1620, and the ground which he then took as 
a public man he never deserted for a moment 
during a political life of thirty years. So 
great was the influence which had falleti to 
him, both in the senate and with the people, 
that he was generally known to the royalists 
by the sarcastic appellation of King Pym. 
He early acquired a perfect knowledge of 
the forms of parliamentary proceedings ; 
and added to the efficiency of a ready and 
powerful elocution, the confidence inspired 
by his various information, by his broad and 
deliberate views of public questions, his 
firmness of purpose, and his high moral 
courage. His style was free from the conceits and quaintness of the age, rising 
at times to the tone of a commanding eloquence, but characterized generally 
by that simplicity, directness, and nervous solemnity of expression which are 
so natural to a man in earnest. On his death-bed he expressed great anxiety 
that peace should be restored, but on such terms only as might be consistent 
with the liberties of the people. 

But while the parliament strengthened itself by uniting with the Scots, 
Charles was not less diligent in seeking assistance from Ireland. He detached 
a portion of the Irish army that it might come to his aid, and also obtained 
supplies from that country to the amount of thirty thousand pounds, partly in 
money and partly in provisions. As, however, the great mass, both of his 
adherents and his opponents, had a special horror of " papists," the Irish rein- 
forcement did him more harm than good. They had been scarcely six weeks 
in the country when Fairfax fell upon them, killing two hundred and making 
prisoners of fifteen hundred others. The defection of many of the English 
adherents of royalty in the north was the immediate consequence of the Irish 
interference. 

No monarch ever had more ardent and devoted followers than Charles 1. ; 
but he asked too much when he required that they should run all risks of life 
and fortune for the maintenance of one abstract principle, that was precious to 
him, while he violated others that were even dearer to them. The most deter- 
mined royalist put his " Fear God" before his " Honour the King," and felt 
his obedience to the latter lessening when he found the king trifling with his 
conscience as to the first. Thus throughout the contest Charles seems conti- 
nually to have been engaged in stripping his cause of all the moral strength 



120 THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION. 

which it would otherwise have possessed in the usages and affections of his 
subjects. He left himself and those who fought for him no one principle high 
and unadulterated, by the light of which they could, with a clear conscience 
and a zealous spirit, move onward at his call, excepting that of the sovereignty, 
a principle too weak alone to bear the structure he would rear upon it. 

Though the commonw^ealth men were generally Puritans, these Puritans 
were divided into tw^o parties, the Presbyterians and the Independents, who 
only disliked each other less than they hated the royalists. The former leaned 
towards the support of monarchical and aristocratical institutions, and yearned 
to establish their church on the ruins of all others, whence they came to abhor 
toleration as one of the w^orst of crimes ; the latter held more democratical 
notions as to civil government, and desired toleration for all Christian bodies 
in the ecclesiastical policy of the country. Cromwell, Selden, St. John, Vane, 
and Whitelock were all Independents, whilst their Scotch allies were almost all 
Presbyterians, as were also the chief officers of the parliamentary army, the 
Earls of Essex and Manchester. Here were ample materials of discord, which 
Charles might have used to advantage. The differences of these factions caused 
a spirit of indecision in the minds of the military commanders, and suspicions 
grew^ rife that both Essex and Manchester were shunning rather than seeking 
decisive success against the king, lest they should at the same time give too 
great a power to that party among their own supporters of whom they were 
in dread. 

Facts were not wanting to support these views. A large army having 
been placed under the command of Manchester, with Cromwell as his lieu- 
tenant-general, the battle of Marston Moor was fought on the 2d of July, 1644, 
in which the royalists were completely routed. The whole north of England, 
in consequence of this victory, fell into the hands of the commonwealth men. 
In a second battle at Newbury, they remained in possession of the field, though 
the victory was claimed by their enemies ; the royalists were nevertheless suf- 
fered to return to the scene of action, in the very eyes of the parliamentary 
army, and carry away unmolested the cannon left in Donnington castle. The 
indignant commons ordered an inquiry, and Cromwell did not hesitate to charge 
his superior with acting as though he thought " the king too low and the par- 
liament too high." 

From that moment the Presbyterian leaders sought to overthrow Cromwell, 
and he to destroy them. With the assistance of Vane and St. John, he suc- 
ceeded in procuring the passage of the Self-Denying Ordinance, whereby all 
members of parliament, whether of the House of Lords or of Commons, were 
excluded from all command and offices in the army. By this subtle stroke of 
policy the Presbyterian leaders were not only put aside, but could hardly 
appear even to complain, without injury to their reputation. The profound 
sagacity of the men who originated this movement undoubtedly perceived that 
the Presbyterians once put aside, some opportunity would be sure to occur for 
the reintroduction of Cromwell. 

Some attempts at negotiating a peace having proved ineffectual, the war 



BATTLE OF N A S E B Y. 121 

was vigorously renewed. A slight reverse caused the Commons to send 
Cromwell to the scene of action. He performed the duties prescribed with his 
usual skill, courage, and success. But other dangers threatened. The royal- 
ists were now concentrating their forces ; some great effort was about to be 
made, and Fairfax, feeling himself incompetent, sent to the Commons to request 
that they would again dispense with the ordinance in Cromwell's case, and 
nominate him second in command. The Self-Denying Ordinance had been 
chiefly brought about by Cromwell's denunciation of the method by which the par- 
liament carried on the war, and his eloquent calls for a more speedy, vigorous, 
and effectual guidance of affairs. This was now to a great extent in his own 
hands ; the opportunity had been given him of testing personally the value of 
the counsel he had given. The parliament was exceedingly anxious, as he was 
determined to settle the business, to know how the settlement should come — 
whether in triumph or ruin. The result of the battle of Naseby made answer. 
That battle, fought on the 16th of June, 1645, sealed the fate of Charles, so far 
as it depended on military issues. 

At dawn of day the king's army formed on a slight eminence, in an advan- 
tageous position, where they awaited the approach of the enemy. The impa- 
tient Prince Rupert marched with a few squadrons to the distance of a mile 
and a half before the advanced guard of the parliamentary army appeared. In 
his excitement, the prince imagined they were retreating, and sent word to the 
king to come and join him wdth all speed, lest they should escape. Towards 
ten o'clock the royalists came up, disordered by the precipitation of their 
advance ; and Rupert, at the head of the right wing of the cavalry, dashed 
down upon Ireton, who commanded the left of the parliamentary army. At 
the same moment, Cromwell, with the right wing, fell upon the enemy's left, 
while the infantry composing the centres of both armies engaged under their 
respective leaders, the king himself on one side, and Fairfax and Skippon on 
the other. No battle as yet had been so rapidly general or so fiercely contested. 
The royalists, intoxicated with insolent confidence, sent forth as their war cry, 
" Queen Mary ;" the parliamentarians, firm in their faith, invigorated their 
onset by the shout, " God is with us!" Ireton was severely wounded and 
made prisoner, and his command w^as broken by Rupert, who, always carried 
away by the same fault, pursued them up to the baggage, which was well 
defended by artillery. Here he vainly wasted his time and his strength, while 
the mighty Cromwell was deciding the battle. He had defeated the king's left, 
and left a detachment on the ground to prevent the broken lines from rallying, 
while he flew to the aid of the centre, where the conflict was most fierce. 
Fairfax, with his helmet beaten off by the blow of a sword, was fighting bare- 
headed, gallantly supported by Doyley, the colonel of his guards. The royal- 
ists were beginning to waver, when Cromwell joined with his victorious 
squadrons. The king, in desperation at the sight, put himself at the head of 
his reserve regiment of life-guards, and faced the new enemy. In a moment 
the whole regiment turned their backs, and the panic stricken royalists fled 
over the plain, some to escape, others to rally the fugitives. The return 
Vol. III. 16 L 



122 



THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION. 





MONUMENT ON NASEET FIELD. 



of the victorious plunderer, Rupert, checked the flight for a moment, and 
Charles wished to make another desperate effort to recover the day, but he was 
unsupported and compelled to fly. With two thousand horse he galloped 
off towards Leicester, leaving his artillery, ammunition, baggage, more than one 
hundred flags, his own standard, five thousand men, and all his cabinet papers 
in the possession of the parliament. In grateful commemoration of this victory, 
an obelisk was raised upon the spot where it was gained. 

The capture of a handful of letters at Naseby, expressive of the true senti- 
ments of the king on various matters then in dispute, rendered the cause of 
Charles much more hopeless than the mere result of the battle would have done. 
By the public reading of them to a great collection of the most distinguished 
citizens of London and members of parliament, it became known to the world 
that he who had so solemnly declared, '< I will never abrogate the laws against 
the Papists," had already in secret pledged himself to abrogate them ; that he 
who had said, with a show of generous indignation, "I abhor to think of 
bringing foreign soldiers into the kingdom," had been encouraging his queen 
to strain every nerve to induce foreign princes to send him troops ; and that, 
finally, the man who had but a short time before consented during negotiation 
to give the parliament its title of parliament, was all the while doing it with 
the mental reservation that calling them so was not so acknowledging them, 
which simply and clearly implied that he was prepared to keep no faith what- 



TRIAL OF CHARLES. 123 

ever with those whom he so often appeared to be ready to negotiate with. The 
only thing which could have saved him at this juncture was a sudden change 
in his deportment, a magnanimous surrender in reliance upon the generosity 
of his people. But he madly threw it aside, and rushed to encounter all the 
dangers of civil war, whhout any of its advantages ; he gave himself up to his 
Scotch rather than to his English subjects, and they shortly afterwards betrayed 
him to the latter. 

Charles was now a prisoner in the hands of the parliament, yet still he 
intrigued, hoping to escape by exciting dissensions between the Presbyterians 
and the Independents. The struggle was brief; the Independents triumphed, 
and Cromwell obtained the entire control of the army, in spite of the Presby- 
terian majority in parliament. From that moment Cromwell was entitled to 
rule the destinies of England. Having by a sudden movement succeeded in 
removing Charles from the custody of the parliamentary commissioners to his 
own, he had the king in his hands, the army his devoted instrument, and the 
great majority of his countrymen his warm admirers. His conduct at this 
important period is very remarkable. To allow Charles to regain his power, 
no matter how restricted, was to set at rest for ever the unlawful and unprinci- 
pled aspirations of any ; whilst to crush him was to open a thousand opportuni- 
ties for their realization. The victorious general entered into negotiations with 
the captive king, who, had he possessed the least sincerity, might have saved 
his life and recovered his throne. The queen wrote a letter to Charles, 
reproaching him for having made too great concessions to those villains. 
These concessions were chiefly that Cromwell should be Lieutenant of Ireland 
for life ; that an army should be there kept, which should know no head but 
the lieutenant ; and that he should have a garter. The queen's letter was 
intercepted, and then forwarded to the king. In his answer, which was found 
in the possession of the messenger, at the Blue Boar Inn, in Holborn,by Crom- 
well and Ireton disguised as troopers, the king said that she should leave him 
to manage, who was better informed of all circumstances than she could be ; 
but she might be entirely easy as to whatever concessions he should make 
them ; for that he should know in due time how to deal with the rogue, who, 
instead of a silken garter, should be fitted with a hempen cord. This letter 
decided the fate of the king. Cromwell found he was dealing with one who 
would not only break whatever pledges he made the moment he was again in 
power, but would make a jest of putting a halter round his neck, as the practical 
mode of fulfilling the promise of the garter. 

While he amused all parties with negotiations, Charles had twice attempted 
to escape by flight, but without success. The Scots, too, ashamed of their 
desertion of him, sent an army into England under the Duke of Hamilton. 
That leader, however, was routed with great slaughter by the invincible Crom- 
well, while General Fairfax quelled a royalist insurrection in Kent and Essex. 
On receiving the news of Hamilton's overthrow, the parliament voted the con- 
cessions of Charles sufficient grounds for settling the peace of the kingdom, but 
the king delayed to embrace their overtures ; two days afterwards the avenues 



124 



THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION. 



to the house were beset by soldiers, and two hundred of the members mos* 
obnoxious to the army were forcibly excluded. 

The Independents now proceeded to consummate the work. The resolu- 
tions leading to a reconciliation with the king were revoked, and proposals 
were made for bringing him to a public trial for treason. A high court of 
justice was constituted for trying him, though the upper house of parliament 
refused its concurrence. Charles was brought before this tribunal, and during 
the seven days that the trial lasted, he frequently attempted to speak, but was 
silenced by Bradshaw, the presiding judge, because he invariably refused to 
acknowledge the authority of the nation to bring him to account for his crimes. 
From beginning to end, the utmost respect was paid to the king, and an order, 
a solemnity, and a rigid intensity of purpose characterized the whole, which 
could only spring from conscientious and deeply seated, even if mistaken, views 
of the overwhelming necessity of the deed they were committing. Throughout 
the whole, Charles continued to temporize, sought to gain time, that a revulsion 
of popular feeling might effect his deliverance. He called himself a martyr for 
the people, and when on the scaffold, with his usual consistency, in appealing to 
the assembled crowd in behalf of his son and successor, he affirmed " that the 
people ought never to have a share in the government, that being a thing 
nothing pertaining to them." Herein was contained the whole question at 
issue between him and his people. Sentence of death was passed upon him 
on the 17th of January, 1649, and he was executed in front of his palace at 
Whitehall, on the 30th, a martyr — not, as some would represent, for the peo- 
ple, — not for the Episcopal religion, — but to his false and high notions of royal 
prerogative, to his own insincerity of character. 





CHAPTER VI. 



lit ® E m m 5 n t f a 3 1 1 © f uE a g 1 u n t:. 



1 NGLAND was now a Re- 
public ; the monarchy had 
ceased to exist. The House 
of Commons, or rather the 
small part of it which re- 
mained after the exclusion 
of the Presbyterian members 
by the military, and which 
was known by the ridiculous 
name of the Rump, abolished 
the kingly power as unne- 
cessary, burdensome, and 
dangerous to the liberty, 
safety, and public interests 
of the people. The House 
of Lords was also abolished, and a new great seal was engraved with inscrip- 
tions according with the new state of affairs. The king's statues were taken 
down from the Exchange and other places. An elaborate declaration was 
written and published in the English, Latin, French, and Dutch languages, in 
explanation and in justification of the king's execution and the change in the 
form of government. A council of state, consisting of forty persons, was 
appointed to assume the government of the nation ; it comprised seven noble- 
men, with Whitelock, St. John, Fairfax, Cromwell, Skippon, Sir Harry Vane, 
Harry Marten, Bradshaw, and Ludlow. Bradshaw presided, and Milton was 

L 2 <125) 




126 THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND. 

the secretary. Altogether, a council so distinguished for the ability of its 
members has never before or since sat in England. St. John also became 
chief justice, the name of the King's Bench being changed to that of the Upper 
Bench. Six of the judges resigned their seats, but six consented to act, on 
obtaining a declaration from the present legislature that no infringement should 
be made on the fundamental laws. 

The army remained under the command of those who had made it invin- 
cible ; the navy was removed from the care of the Earl of Warvv'ick, and placed 
under the control of the three best officers of the day, of whom the chief was 
Blake ; Vane sat as the guiding spirit at the head of the admiralty ; and the 
commonwealth men, retaining the Presbyterian form of w^orship, infused into it 
a spirit hitherto unknown to Presbyterianism — toleration. 

The first business of the Commonw^ealth was to repress the mutinous 
detachments of royalists attempting insurrections in different parts of the 
country. This required, during four months, the most decisive measures on the 
part of the Commons, and all the promptitude and vigour that Fairfax and 
Cromwell could bring to the enterprise. Other circumstances rendered the 
necessity of these exertions at home a source of much perplexity and irritation. 
Ireland, if any thing better than the name of a government was to be retained 
there, demanded immediate attention ; and all the remaining strength that 
could be brought to the conflict would probably be required to meet the effort 
about to be made by the Scots in favour of the surviving Charles Stuart, whom 
they had proclaimed king as soon as the news of his father's death had reached 
them. 

Cromwell accepted the conduct of the war in Ireland, with the office of 
lord-lieutenant, and landed near Dublin on the ] 5th of August, 1649, with eight 
thousand foot, four thousand cavalry, and a train of artillery. He laid the plan 
of the campaign with that unerring skill which always characterized his military 
enterprises, and carried it into execution without hesitation or delay. Town 
after town fell in rapid succession, and wherever the Irish showed themselves 
in the open field they were totally routed. The royalist deputy, Ormond, had 
put the important town of Drogheda into the best posture of defence, and gar- 
risoned it with between two and three thousand of his best troops. Cromwell, 
instead of allowing himself to be detained by the dilatory process of a siege, 
effected a breach in the wall, and stormed the works at the head of his men. 
The whole armed garrison was put to the sword. Wexford suffered the fate 
of Drogheda. Many of the authorities in other towns were induced by these 
terrible proceedings to open their gates to the conquerors, and the war com- 
mencing in September had made such progress by the following March, that 
Cromwell returned to England, leaving Ireton to watch or subdue the small 
remains of opposition. The secret of the cruelty and rapidity of this murderous 
campaign was the necessity of placing England, at the earliest possible period, 
in a condition to meet the hostilities of the Scotch. On his return to England;, 
Cromwell was met several miles from London by the Lord-General Fairfax, 
accompanied by many members of the parliament and officers of the army, 



BATTLE OF DUNBAR. 127 

« with great numbers that came out of curiosity to see him of whom fame had 
made such a loud report."* 

The Scotch movement was a far more portentous affair than that in Ireland. 
Negotiations had been concluded between the estates at Edinburgh, and the 
young king finally determined to accept their terms, which provided that he 
should subscribe to the Covenant, and limited the royal prerogative. The lat- 
ter made the sovereignty little better than a name, and Charles for a while 
hesitated to subscribe to them until he learned the fate of Montrose. This was 
one of his partisans and a royalist of the old school, who had attempted a 
diversion in his favour, but his principles were so distasteful to the Covenanters 
that they attacked and defeated him. Montrose himself w'as made captive, and 
hung upon a gallows thirty feet high, at Edinburgh, by virtue of a former 
attainder. After that event all the hopes Charles had entertahied of obtaining 
more favourable conditions vanished, and laying aside conscience for what he 
thought policy, he took the oaths required of him, and landed in Scotland on 
the twenty-third of June, 1650. 

Fairfax having declined the command of the army of the Commonwealth, 
Cromwell was named captain-general of all the forces, June 26. Three days 
afterwards he was on his way to the Borders. On passing the Tweed, the 
English army were surprised to find the country everywhere laid waste, and 
the inhabitants fled. The people, under penalty of the loss of life and property, 
had been compelled to remove or destroy their substance and to fly northward, 
their alacrity being increased by the most extravagant stories of the savage 
treatment they were to expect from the invaders. The deserted wilderness 
which Cromwell found to extend from Berwick to Edinburgh, w^as the conse- 
quence of these threatenings and reports, and though, by keeping near the 
coast, he obtained supplies from the fleets which accompanied him, yet the 
Scotch had reason to be delighted with their policy, when they saw its results 
developed in the daily increasing weakness of the enemy. At length Cromwell 
found the Scottish army between Edinburgh and Leith, so intrenched and other- 
wise protected as. to preclude the possibility of successful assault. Their gene- 
ral, Leslie, avoided an engagement, hoping to exhaust his opponent by scarcity 
of provisions, fatigue, and sickness. His steady perseverance in this course, 
and the effect it produced upon the P2nglish ranks, caused Cromwell to feel 
much apprehension, and he retreated to Dunbar, where he shipped his sick 
and his heavy luggage, and prepared himself to return to England. But the 
Scotch preachers who were with the army thought that the time was now come 
for the total overthrow of the enemy, which they had prophesied from the 
beginning. The numbers of the respective forces were very satisfactory for 
them, 27,000 on their side against 12,000 under Cromwell. They were 
pressing closely upon him ; his forces lay spread over an open plain near 
Broxmouth house, whilst they occupied the heights of Lammermuir on the 
right and the left. The Scots looked on the foe as snared and taken. 

* Old Endand. 



128 THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND. 

During the first day, which was the Sabbath, both armies remained motion- 
less. On the following morning, the Scots, urged on, it is said, by their impa- 
tient preachers, who proved from Scripture that their victory must be sure, drew 
down part of their army and their artillery towards the foot of the hills. As 
Cromwell saw what they were doing, he burst out with the triumphant and pro- 
phetic cry, " The Lord has delivered them into our hands." Through that 
day, however, a formidable dyke or ditch, which separated the two armies, 
deterred either from making the attack. But some hours before daybreak the 
next morning, Cromwell despatched a brigade to attempt the gaining of a pass 
between Dunbar and Berwick, which would allow of their falling with advantage 
upon the position of the enemy. This object was accomplished by six o'clock, 
and Cromwell, advancing with the main body of his army, placed himself in 
front of the enemy's cavalry. When the sun, which had been hitherto obscured 
by a fog, suddenly burst forth and scattered the mists which had served par- 
tially to conceal the combatants from each other, the Scotch were seen 
advancing to the charge. Cromwell gazed for a moment, enraptured by the 
beauty of the scene, then recalled his thoughts to the business in hand, and 
shouted aloud, " Now let God arise and his enemies shall be scattered." The 
Scots charged with spirit, but they were met by the infantry with such order 
and force that they began to give ground ; the rout of the cavalry produced a 
panic among the Scotch infantry, who threw away their arms and fled in every 
direction. Four thousand killed and ten thousand captive Scotchmen told in 
awful language the might of the English arms.* 

Of Charles II. it has been said that he never said a foolish thing and never 
did a wise one, and the latter part of the assertion might have been true but for 
his conduct at this crisis. While, in consequence of the battle of Dunbar, one 
place after another surrendered to the victorious general, and some of the peo- 
ple of Scotland began to take the side of the parliament, Charles suddenly left 
Stirling and dashed across the border towards London. He reached Worcester 
without encountering an enemy, and there issued proclamations to those who 
favoured his cause in England. While his adherents slowly gathered round 
his standard, Cromwell, who had been taken by surprise at this brilliant 
manoeuvre, pursued him with great speed, cut to pieces an army of royalists 
under the Earl of Derby who attempted to arrest his progress, formed a junction 
with the troops that had been sent from London on the emergency, and finally 
sat down before Worcester, assured of success. The parliamentary force was 
divided by the windings of the Teme and the Severn, and Charles decided to 
attack that part of it which was commanded by Cromwell on the east bank of 
the latter river. The attack was commenced upon the newly-raised militia 
regiments, which broke at the first onset. Cromwell then brought up his own 
troops, who pressed with so much weight and steadiness upon their opponents, 
that after a sharp conflict, maintained with various success for four hours, the 
retreat of the royalists became general, and horse and foot began to seek the 

* Pictorial Eng^land. 



WAR WITH HOLLAND. 



129 




B0300BEL H"U. 



shelter of the city. The fight 
was renewed in the streets, 
but the victory belonged to 
Cromwell, and Charles fled 
for his life. (September 3, 
1651.) He went first with a 
few trusty attendants to Bos- 
cobel House, where he nar- 
rowly escaped capture by the 
troopers of Cromwell. After 
many adventures, he finally, 
in the middle of October, 
embarked at Sporeham in a 
coal vessel, which carried 
him to the small town of 
Fecamp, in France. 
Cromwell left " the Golgotha of Worcester," and hastened to London, 
where he was honoured with another public entry ; Hampton Court was pre- 
pared for his reception, and an estate in land worth four thousand pounds a 
year was v^oted to him. Ireton, as his lieutenant, successfully completed the 
conquest of Ireland, and Monk, in a similar capacity, reduced all Scotland. 
Scilly, Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man were all subjected, and the flag 
of the Commonwealth was everywhere victorious. Vane, St. John, and six 
others were appointed commissioners to settle the affairs of Scotland by incor- 
porating it with England, the Covenanters were forced to succumb to the argu- 
ments of the parliament, — a victorious army, a chain of forts, and the entire 
command of their coasts and trade, — and every sign of royalty was eflfaced in 
both Scotland and Ireland. Thenceforth, the great seal was graced by the 
map of the United British Islands.* 

The states-general of Holland had manifested considerable opposition to 
the Commonweahh, which feeling, added to the commercial rivalry of the two 
nations, inclined them to experiment with the temper and strength of the young 
and vigorous power. The commercial war which now ensued between Eng- 
land and Holland, grew out of difficulties arising from the murder of the Com- 
monwealth's ambassador at the Hague, by a party of English royalists, and a 
dispute about a point of naval etiquette. The great Admiral Van Tromp, the 
Neptune of the Dutch, had received from the states the command of a fleet of 
forty sail, in order to protect the merchantmen of Holland from the English pri- 
vateers. He was forced by stress of weather into the road of Dover, where he 
met with the famous Admiral Blake, who commanded a fleet of fifteen sail. 
The latter haughtily gave a signal to Van Tromp to strike his flag in compli- 
ment to the English nation. The gallant Dutchman answered the signal with a 
broadside, and Blake boldly attacked him. Eight English sail reinforced 



Vol. III.- 



-17 



* England under the House of Stuart. 



130 



THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND. 




the admiral, and the battle raged for five hours, 
when it was terminated by the approach of night. 
Several other engagements ensued with- 
out any decided advantage. At length Blake, 
with a greatly inferior force, was surprised 
at anchor by his adversary. He never- 
theless gave battle, and the combat lasted 
from ten in the morning until night, when the 
English admiral found that he had lost five 
of his thirty-seven vessels. (November 29th, 
1652.) 

After this victory, Van Tromp sailed 
through the channel to convoy home the Dutch 
and French fleets, and affixed a broom to his 
mast-head to signify his intention of sweeping 
the English from the seas. In February, 1653, 
however, an engagement took place between the rival commanders, which lasted 
three days. The result was a victory for Blake, much more decisive than any 
that had occurred during the war. The Dutch lost thirty merchant vessels, 
eleven ships of war, and two thousand seamen, besides fifteen hundred taken 
prisoners. The English lost as many killed, but only one vessel. 

Perhaps there is nothing in modern history more remarkable than the 
change which in a short space of time had come over the character of the 
English people : from the pusillanimity and incompetency which had marked 
its undertakings under the successors of Elizabeth, to the astonishing exhibitions 
of disciplined valour upon the land and upon the seas, which marked the period 
of the civil war and the Commonwealth. The new power and complexion of 
the national character would appear to have been derived from the novelty and 
nobleness of the objects pursued by the soldier and the sailor in the contests in 
which they were engaged — personal right and religious freedom. But the 
spirit of revolution could with difficulty be restrained within the limits which 
wisdom would have assigned ; every man speculated upon government, every 
man fancied a form of government by which only the good of the country could 
be secured, and every man felt aggrieved that his invention was not adopted. 
Like most others, Cromwell entertained peculiar opinions, and laboured sys- 
tematically and earnestly to procure their adoption. He thought through life 
that all theories of government have their value, not from their abstract excel- 
lence, but from their adaptation to the community that may be supposed to 
adopt them, and he was persuaded that at this time the form of government 
best suited to the people of England was a mixed constitution with a 
monarchical power ; a persuasion that we may readily suppose was not less 
welcome from its being, in the course of time, connected with circumstances 
which seemed to point to himself as the only person in whom the supreme 
power could be vested with any appearance of propriety or safety. It is of the 
least importance to prove that he did or did not know how to dissemble ; but 



POLICY OF CROMWELL. 131 

certainly, much of his conduct which has been carried to the account of hypo- 
crisy and ambition, may have been designed to carry into effect those larger 
views of social policy by which he was assuredly distinguished from all the 
men of his time. Though he in many instances both spoke and acted in a 
manner not strictly consistent with his real preferences, yet his intention was to 
adapt himself to the nature of the elements about him, and to wield them so as 
to accomplish the objects he then had in view, and which in his judgment were 
most likely to conduce to the public good. 

When it was necessary that the command of the army should not be left 
with men who had received it chiefly on account of their rank, and who were 
suspected of leaning towards royalty, and of being therefore predisposed against 
the popular cause, it was Cromwell who saw the necessity of the change, and 
he became sufficiently a republican to accomplish this desirable end. He 
employed the popular sentiment in the army, that the cause of the parliament 
might not be endangered in the hands of incompetent or half-hearted persons. 
When the dispute began between the parliament and the army under Fairfax, 
he availed himself of the same feeling to prevent such a settlement on the part 
of the two houses as would have taken from his followers that religious liberty 
for which they had so successfully contended, and perhaps at no distant day 
have exposed himself and others to the vengeance of their enemies. These 
objects were not, however, more calculated to gratify any feeling of individual 
ambition in Cromwell than to secure the triumph of the public cause in which 
he was engaged. That the tone of republicanism which he assumed for their 
sake was such as to preclude his future adherence to royalty is highly improba- 
ble. This may be inferred from the fact that he laboured with earnestness to 
bring about an agreement with the king. 

It had long been a leading object with him to bring the present parliament 
to fix on a time when its powers should cease, and when another should be 
convened on some well-considered principle of representation. He pressed 
the subject upon the attention of the house in the autumn of 1648, but he could 
obtain no immediate action upon it. The house of five hundred persons which 
assembled as the Commons in 1640, by deaths, by the withdrawal of the 
royalists, and by the forcible ejectment of obnoxious members by the military, 
had been reduced in numbers to sixty. No one pretended that the selection 
of persons then made by the officers, or the additions afterwards made to them 
by the same power, was an assembly that could properly be called a parlia- 
ment ; it was an authority existing solely as the creature of the army. In many 
of the departments of government it had acquitted itself with a high degree of 
sagacity, assiduity, and courage ; but the tenacity with which its leaders clung 
to the power that had been committed to them, though proceeding probably 
from motives in which there was as much to praise as to blame, exposed them 
to suspicion, and gave force to the complaints which were directed against the 
weak points of their conduct by their enemies. At the same time Cromwell 
was addressed in all quarters in language which proclaimed him a king in 
every thing except the name. He adopted measures to ascertain the judgment 



132 



THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND. 



of the most considerable persons about him in regard to the establishment of a 
monarchy ; but found the military men generally wedded to a republic, while 
the civilians were more favourable to the restoration of the peerage and of 
power in a single person, but always mentioning one of the branches of the 
late king's family as the person to be called to that power. "With officers so 
little disposed to change the form of government, it is doubtful what course 
Cromwell would have taken with respect to the parliament, but for the reasons 
for violence with which its own conduct furnished him. 

In November, 1651, it was decided, by a bare majority, that the present 
parliament should cease on the 3d of November, 1654 ; a decision which 
Cromwell had had gi-eat difficulty in obtaining. His conduct was regarded as 

betraying distrust, and the parliamentary leaders 
discovered a similar jealousy of the commander-in- 
chief, by effecting some large reductions in the army. 
In the summer of 1652, Cromwell interposed to pre- 
vent these retrenchments from extending further than 
might comport with his plans, and the house con- 
sented to stay its hand for the present. 

From September, 1652, to the following April, 
several meetings took place between the leading 
officers and some of the members of parliament, in 
order that provision should be made for the return 
of a new parliament friendly to the military, yet the 
house showed an intention of coalescing with the 
Presbyterians, who at heart hated them and Cromwell 
alike. In regard to this point a conference took 
place, on the 19th of April, between the commander- 
in-chief and his officers and some twenty members 
of parliament, which came to no definite determina- 
tion. At parting, several of the members assured 
Cromwell that they would suspend further proceed- 
ings about the new representative bill until further 
conference. It was then late at night. On the next 
morning, while the council of officers was consider- 
ing the terms to be proposed at the next meeting 
with, the committee, Colonel Ingoldsby came from 
the house, bearing a message from Harrison that the 
parliament " was proceeding with all speed upon the 
new representative." In fact, the house had determined on the morning of 
that day to pass a bill relating to the constitiition of a new parliament, which 
they had secretly agreed upon, and then to dissolve, hoping to effect both 
measures before the council at Whitehall should become aware of their proceed- 
ings. By this means the force of law would be given to their plans, and any 
attempt to frustrate them by military violence would be rendered less probable. 
But after despatching Ingoldsby to Cromwell, Harrison prolonged the debate 




COSTTDME OF A. CUIBAS. 
SIER. 1645. 



CROMWELL EXPELLING THE PARLIAMENT. 133 




WELL EXPELLINO THE PARLIAMENT. 



by a mild and humble, but long expostulation to the advocates of the measure, 
pointing out the impolicy of their conduct. 

No other man in the country could have met this combination of strategy 
and courage in his opponents with the firmness and presence of mind of Crom- 
well. He went, attended by Lambert and other officers and a file of musketeers 
to the house, and, leaving the soldiers outside, he entered and took his seat. 
In silence he listened to the discussion until the speaker was about to put the 
question. Now was the time for action. Without hesitation he rose, removed 
his hat from his head, and spoke for a short time to the question about to be 
decided. As he proceeded he grew impassioned, his language violent. He 
charged the house with the denial of justice, with acts of oppression, with open 

M 



134 THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND. 

profanity, with intending their own aggrandizement at the cost of the public 
welfare, and above all with planning at this moment to bring in the Presbyte- 
rians, men who they knew, or should know, would lose no time in destroying 
the cause which they had so basely deserted. All this they had done to pro- 
mote their own little interests, and in heedlessness concerning the fate of men 
who had endured all hardships for the state, fought for it and bled for it. 
Vane, Wentworth, and Marten broke forth in indignant exclamations at the 
violence of his conduct. The loud and stern tones of Cromwell bore down 
their voices as he uttered the memorable words : "I'll put an end to your 
prating ; you are no longer a parliament. I'll put an end to your sitting. Get 
ye gone ! Give way to honester men." He then stamped with his foot and 
the house was instantly filled with armed men. The Speaker hesitated to obey 
the command to leave ; he w^as forcibly ejected. The young Algernon Sydney, 
one of the bravest and purest republicans, was similarly put out, and the mem- 
bers generally, about eighty in number, rose, on being pressed by the military, 
and moved towards the door. When they had disappeared, he ordered the 
speaker's mace to be removed, caused the doors to be locked, and returned to 
Whitehall with the keys in his pocket. The Council of State were dissolved 
the same day, by the same means — force ; Bradshaw, its president, yielding to 
w^hat could not be resisted, but with a heart as inaccessible to fear as that of 
the general himself, speaking to Cromwell as sternly and uncompromisingly as 
he had ever done to Charles on the trial in Westminster Hall. 

So weary were the people of their late rulers, that they not only evinced 
no dissatisfaction, but expressed great joy at the downfall of parliament, and 
Cromwell received letters from every part of the kingdom, thanking him for his 
boldness and courage. The statesmen at W^estminster had disappointed his 
expectations, they were not likely to adopt the form of government which he 
thought should be chosen, and rather than trust to them or the still less man- 
ageable body which would have succeeded them, he seized the reins of state 
into his ow^n hands. No man, not blinded by prejudice or excessive party 
feeling, will doubt that he intended to guide them for the good of the com- 
munity, and w^ith a more equal and comprehensive regard to its interests than 
could be expected from any other quarter ; neither can it well be doubted that 
he looked forward to an establishment of the supremacy of the law in the place 
of the power of the sword. But the point of most weight in connection with 
the judgment to be formed of the conduct of Cromw^ell on this occasion, is one 
that must always remain in a great degree uncertain, that is, the extent to which 
his regard for the public good was alloyed by admixtures of personal ambition. 
Even supposing that his proposed end w^as the most generous and patriotic 
that could have been entertained, it is still doubtful how far he was justified in 
resorting to such measures even for such an object.* 

Cromwell understood the temperament of the people of England too well 
not to be aware that his ascendency would be of no long continuance unless 

* England under the House of Stuart. Old England. Von Raumer. 



CROMWELL MADE LORD PROTECTOR. 135 

sanctioned by the appearance of parliamentary authority. He therefore, with 
the advice of his officers, nominated one hundred and sixty persons, on his own 
authority, to form a new parliament. This assembly met on the 4th of July, 
1653; one hundred and twenty, '< many of them persons of fortune and know- 
ledge," having obeyed the call. Some of the members were recommended 
chiefly by their religious enthusiasm and their influence over the common peo- 
ple and sectarians. Of these the most noted was one Praise God Barbone, a 
leather dealer of London, whose name, converted into Barebones, furnished an 
appellation for the whole assembly. The more common popular title, however, 
was that of the Little Parliament. But the Lord-General did not find his new 
assembly so favourable to him as he had expected, and he therefore contrived 
that it should dissolve itself and surrender its power into his own hands. On 
the 12th of December a portion of the members met sooner than usual, and, 
with the speaker Rouse at their head, repaired to Cromwell and his council of 
officers, declared themselves unequal to the task which they had unwarily 
undertaken, and resigned their delegated power, 

Harrison had hitherto been an efficient instrument in the hands of Crom- 
well ; he now became hostile to him. With some twenty others he remained 
in the house, and they proceeded to protract their functions by placing one 
Mayor in the chair. As they were preparing to draw up protests, they were 
interrupted by Colonel White, who entered with a party of soldiers, and asked 
what they did there. Some one replied that they were seeking the Lord, 
" Then," said the colonel, " you may go elsewhere, for to my certain know- 
ledge he has not been here these many years." 

Four days after the dissolution of the Little Parliament, Cromwell was 
installed Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and L-e- 
land, and a paper was read to him entitled an Instrument of Government, 
which had been prepared by the council of officers, and which he swore to 
observe. It granted the legislative power to the protector and a parliament, 
and the executive to the protector and a council of state. The parliament 
assembled under this instrument was to sit for five months ; at the end of that 
time, finding it no more tractable than its predecessors, Cromwell dissolved it, 
declaring that he thought it not good for the profit of the nations that it should 
continue longer. 

While thus the parliament and the executive were unable to agree, the 
royalists and the republicans were active in raising conspiracies and revolts to 
overturn the existing state of affairs. But their schemes were all known to 
Cromwell, to whom belongs the honour of perfecting that system of espionage, 
by which alone the heads of police, and through them the despotic governments 
of Europe are now assured of their safety. His agents saw every thing, knew 
every thing, not only in the countries he ruled, but throughout Europe. The 
private instructions of ambassadors to his court were known to him, often before 
they had left the hands of the government which sent them, and the machina- 
tions of the royalists in England and abroad were particularly the objects of 
attention on the part of his servants. Apprised of the proceedings of conspira- 



136 THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND 

tors, he caused their persons to be seized at the critical moment, and the sub- 
ordinates, deprived of the leaders, remained quiet, fearing and trembling. 

After the dissolution of the parliament, which had not voted him the 
smallest supply or even empowered him to collect the ordinary revenue, Crom- 
well proceeded to administer the affairs of the state by virtue of the authority 
given him by the Instrument of Government. His demands were moderate, 
and met with little resistance, so that during a period of eighteen months he 
sustained the whole power of the Commonwealth, and raised the necessary 
supplies without any legislative assistance. He then ventured, in an arbitrary 
manner, to assemble another parliament, in which for a time he commanded a 
majority. Provisions were made for the greater safety of the person of the 
chief magistrate, proper measures for supporting the government in its foreign 
relations were enacted, and the family of Stuart was solemnly renounced. A 
plot which had for its object the death of the protector being discovered about 
this time, led to the discussion of a question which, as we believe, had long 
occupied the mind of Cromwell, and which possessed a deep interest with all 
the parties of the nation. This was the celebrated affair of the kingship. It 
had long been seen that a parliament of one chamber or house was a nullity, 
and that in the present condition of affairs there was nothing but the single life 
of Cromwell between comparative tranquillity and prosperity, and civil war 
and anarchy. On this account, many men, not the protector's tools or dupes, 
neither selfish nor short-sighted, had seriously deliberated upon the restoration 
of the upper house and a monarchy. By a majority of 123 to 62, they there- 
fore offered him the title of king. <' The protector," says Bulstrode, — who 
appears to have understood the frame and temper of Cromwell's mind at least 
as well as any of the angry debaters who have since written upon the subject, — 
<' the protector was satisfied in his private judgment that it was fit for him to 
accept this title of king, and matters were prepared in order thereunto. But 
afterwards, by solicitation of the Commonwealth's men and many officers of the 
army, he decided to attend some better season and opportunity in the business, 
and declined it at this time." We may rest satisfied with this summary 
account, the rather as the secret details of the matter are dark and not moment- 
ous.* A. D. 1656. 

The great statesman having thus declined the title of king, the parliament 
slightly modified their <« Petition and Advice," by which they begged of Crom- 
well that he " would be pleased to hold and exercise the office of chief magis- 
trate, by and under the name and style of Lord Protector of the Commonwealth 
of ICngland, Scotland, and Ireland ; to appoint and declare during his lifetime 
the person who should be his successor; and to create the "Other House," 
the members to be such as should be nominated by his highness, and approved 
by the Commons." To this instrument Cromwell gave his consent, and on the 
26th of June he was inaugurated as protector in Westminster Hall, with all the 
pomp of royalty. This was scarcely over and the Other House established, 

* Carlyle. 



CROMWELL REFUSES THE CROWN. 



137 




CROMTVELL REFUSING THE C R O 'W N , 



when the members of the House of Commons commenced a series of intrigues, 
which had for their object the destruction of the Upper House and the abolition 
of the protectorate, and which speedily led to the dissolution of this, the last 
parliament convened by the Protector. Thus ended the last effort made by 
Cromwell to restore the constitution of his country. Henceforth, w4th that 
portion of the army which confided in him, Cromwell employed himself in 
opposing the establishment of the schemes of his opponents — the royalists, the 
Presbyterians, and the republicans — all of which essentially or from circum- 
stances were schemes of tyranny. They trusted that the dissolution of this 
third parliament would render him odious and hasten his fall ; nor did they 
spare any pains to forward the accomplishment of their own predictions. But 
in all their paths of conspiracy their adversary met them, and proved himself 
powerful enough to put down this many-headed opposition. 

One of the first measures of Cromwell, when he became possessed of the 
Vol. HI. 18 m2 



138 THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND. 

supreme power, was to favour the pacific overtures of the United Provinces. 
The war with the Dutch had been waged by Cromwell since the assembling of 
the Little Parliament, with a success which made England appear more for- 
midable under his administration than ever before. Monk and Dean were 
intrusted with the command of a fleet of a hundred sail. They encountered 
the enemy in equal force off the coast of Flanders, and a battle ensued which 
lasted two days. During its continuance the English were reinforced by 
eighteen sail under Blake, and, though Dean was killed, victory declared for 
the CommonweaUh. The Dutch refitted their fleet with surprising rapidity, 
added to it several new and larger vessels, and committed to Van Tromp the 
task of retrieving the honour of their flag. The hostile fleets encountered each 
other on the 31st of July, and for two days the result was doubtful. Both par- 
ties fought with the utmost fury. On the third morning the struggle was 
renewed ; they fought from five in the morning until ten, when Van Tromp 
was shot, while, in the very midst of the English fleet, he animated his men to 
still greater exertions. His death diffused a panic not only throughout the 
Dutch fleet, but over all the United Provinces. Though they lost but thirty 
ships in the battle, the Dutch gave up all hopes of success in the war. They 
purchased a peace from Cromwell by yielding to the English the honour of the 
flag, and making such other concessions as were required of them. 

The Protector's success abroad served still further to increase the estima- 
tion in which he was held by foreign powers. Spain and France, at war with 
each other, both courted his friendship, and neither spared any baseness or 
prostration to win his alliance. The cunning of Mazarin decided the question. 
Of the king of Spain he demanded, that no Englishman should ever be subjected 
to the Inquisition, and that the West Indies and the South American continent 
should be thrown open to his flag, wuth a free trade to all English subjects. 
The Spanish ambassador told him that this was like asking for the King of 
Spain's two eyes. The fact that the Protector had made these demands being 
spread throughout England, greatly increased Cromwell's popularity, and 
secured him the support of the people in the warlike measures which he com- 
menced. Two fleets were immediately fitted out ; one under Blake was sent 
to cruise in the Mediterranean, the other under Penn and Venables proceeded 
to the West Indies, where, after a blundering and unsuccessful attempt on His- 
paniola, it secured to the Commonw^ealth the important island of Jamaica. 
While Blake, with a strong naval force, checked the Barbary pirates, and forced 
the Grand Duke of Tuscany to make indemnity for sundry offences committed 
against the Commonwealth, Cromwell treated on terms of equality with Louis 
XIV. His attention had been directed to the persecuted Waldenses, a Pro- 
testant people living in the upper valleys of Piedmont, and though he could 
not hope to make his sea cannon heard by the Duke of Savoy, their oppressor, 
he nevertheless determined to bring about their deliverance. He refused there- 
fore to treat with Mazarin, who was said to fear Cromwell more than he did the 
devil, until that minister had read a lesson of toleration to the court of Savoy, and 
had obtained from it a solemn engagement to allow the Protestant mountaineers 



SIEGE OF DUNKIRK. 



139 



liberty of conscience and the restoration of all their ancient rights. Then only 
did Cromwell, whom Charles Stuart terms in his proclamations " that base 
mechanic fellow^," sign the treaty with '< his brother, the King of France." 

A declaration of open war with Spain was now issued, and Blake presently 
began to fill the ports of England with rich prizes. On land Dunkirk first 

engaged the attention of the allies. 
The British blockaded it by sea, 
while a French army under Turenne, 
aided by six thousand of Cromwell's 
invincible troops as auxiliaries, be- 
sieged it by land. The Spaniards 
sent an army to its relief, Turenne 
gave battle, and obtained a decided 
victory, chiefly by the obstinate 
valour of the English. In conse- 
quence of this victory, the great 
general in a few days became 
master of Dunkirk, which was given 
to Cromwell in accordance whh the 
terms of the treaty. (A. D. 1656.) 
The troops of the Protector acted 
in harmony with the French during 
the remainder of the campaign, and 
the fall of Dunkirk was followed by 
that of many of the principal cities 
of the Spanish Netherlands. 

Blake was the naval hero of 
this war ; the last in which he took part. The burning of an entire fleet in the 
bay of Santa Cruz, was the last and greatest of his exploits. In the quaint 
words of an old historian, " here with twenty-five sail, he fought as it were in 
a ring, with seven forts, a castle, and sixteen ships, many of them being of 
greater force than most of those ships which Blake carried in against them ; 
yet, in spite of opposition, he soon calcined the enemy, and brought his fleet 
back again to the coast of Spain, full fraught with honour." But on the way 
home, " he who w^ould never strike to any other enemy, struck his topmast to 
Death." In the civil war Blake had been an inflexible republican, yet his 
greatest exploits were done in the service of the Protector. He was above 
forty-four years of age when he entered the military service, and fifty-one before 
he acted in the navy, yet he raised the maritime glory of England to a greater 
height than it had ever attained in any former period. Cromwell, fully sensible 
of his merits, ordered him a pompous funeral at the public expense ; and 
people of all parties, by their tears, bore testimony to his valour, generosity, 
and public spirit.* 




TURENNE 



* Dr. .Tohnson's Life of Blake. 



140 THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND. 

The protection of law and of regular government, and the mildness of his 
sway having apparently induced many w^ho once opposed him to now uphold 
his authority, Cromwell, in 1658, contemplated assembling a fourth parliament, 
which might not prove unwilling to act with him as chief magistrate. The 
experiment, however, was not to be made. In the summer of 1658 he lost his 
eldest and favourite daughter, the lady Elizabeth Claypole. Her sufferings 
and death affected him exceedingly, insomuch that for many days he abstained 
almost entirely from public business. At the same time his own constitution 
afforded signs of rapid decay ; he was in his sixtieth year, and so great had 
been his labours, both in the council and in the field, that he may be truly said 
to have lived through many lives before that year arrived. His first indisposi- 
tion was from an attack of the gout, which was followed by a tertian ague of a 
severe description. Many of the anecdotes recorded of his last illness, though 
they indicate a sort of consciousness of religious declension, afford withal a 
sufficient proof of the sincerity with which Cromwell held those religious 
opinions which it was his practice to avow. His last sane moments were spent 
in uttering a prayer to the Throne of Grace, not for himself, nor for his own 
family or near relations, but for his people, for those especially who were impatient 
for his last moments, and who he well knew had long sought opportunities for 
effecting his destruction. He died on the 3d of September, 1659, on the anni- 
versary of the battles of Dunbar and Worcester. 

The formation of a just estimate of the character of Cromwell is rendered 
particularly difficult by the manner in which his good and evil qualhies were 
blended, by the various and peculiar circumstances in which they were deve- 
loped, and by the exaggerated language in which they have been presented to 
us, sometimes by over-zealous friends, but chiefly by prejudiced or ill-informed 
minds, hostile to his memory. History presents us the name of no other man 
of whom so much has been written, and so small a portion of it by a friendly 
hand. We are indebted, for nearly all that we know concerning Cromwell, to 
authors of the royalist, Presbyterian, or republican faction, all of whom hated 
Cromwell with the utmost intensity of passion. 

These authors have given currency to many tales of his profligacy in youth, 
the sole foundations of which appear to have been some of the puritanical 
modes of expression in which he sometimes spoke of the sinfulness of his past 
life. Few now deny that his devotion was ardent and his piety genuine, and 
even prejudiced and inimical authors are constrained to admit that under his 
sway England witnessed a diffusion, till then unknown, of the purest influence 
of true religious principles. The first and greatest error of the Protector's life 
consisted in the surrender of his powerful mind to the religious fashions of his 
younger days. His court and manner of life continued always quiet and 
modest ; every thing at Hampton court, his favourite residence, wore an air of 
decency and sobriety ; there was no riot, no debauchery seen or heard of, yet 
it was prevented from becoming dull by the cheerful humour of the Protector. 
In the words of Dr. Bate, who, though the physician, was far from being the 
panegyrist of Cromwell, " the lives of men, outwardly at least, became reformed, 



CHARACTER OF CROMWELL. 141 

either by withdrawing the incentives to kixury, or by means of the ancient laws 
now of new put into execution. There was also a strict discipline kept up in 
his court ; one could find none here that was either drunkard or reveller, none 
that was guilty of extortion or oppression, but he was severely rebuked. Now 
trade began to flourish, and, to say all in a word, all England over there w^ere 
halcyon days." 

It has been remarked, and it can hardly be denied, that there were times 
when he employed language to obscure rather than to express his meaning, 
and others when his words wanted not clearness, but when they did not convey 
his real opinions. At times, too, he chose to appear to be pushed forward by 
parties, when he had really been at much pains to win them over to his own 
views. As he rose in life, temptations to avail himself of such artifices were 
frequent, and when he deemed the end to be accomplished important, he did 
not always care to resist them. His enemies assert loudly, and with truth, that 
no pressure of circumstances can justify an act of insincerity, yet few men 
perhaps would have preserved a more unblemished character in a similar position. 
In our own quiet times, we frequently find public men, of ardent temperament, 
acting under the belief that the success of their party is necessary to the well- 
being of the state, and persuading themselves that means which they would 
otherwise have considered highly questionable, are both expedient and lawful 
when regarded in relation to the end they propose to accomplish. Yet even 
their most violent political opponents rarely charge them with insincerity. Still 
more rarely is such a charge laid at the door of the subtle statesmen, Richelieu 
and Mazarin, both contemporaries of Cromwell, and both ecclesiastics. Yet, 
while Cromwell but pursued doubtful means of obtaining a good end, they 
both regarded all means as good in proportion as they might be employed with 
success, and frequently proposed ends not more consonant with a due regard 
to moral considerations than the expedients adapted to secure them. 

The policy of Cromwell during the last ten years of his life, according to 
an author whose views are singularly impartial and independent, w^as twofold : 
to prevent any one of the leading parties from becoming so far predominant 
as to be capable of oppressing the rest ; and to bring them all — using his own 
language — to a " consistency," or, in other words, to a settlement on the basis 
of mutual concession. That no hand but his own could possibly conduct 
affairs to this issue was a conviction which the course of events naturally 
forced upon him ; and as it became more and more evident that there was no 
room to hope for such a settlement without recognising a monarchical power, 
Cromwell laid claim to that power as properly his own. This was his ambi- 
tion ; a passion which we do not find existing in him in a degree to be 
censured until after the period when his attempt to place Charles I. on the 
throne exposed his own life to imminent hazard.* 

Of the qualifications of Cromwell to sustain the high office to which he 
aspired, it is far more easy to treat. His humble origin has led some to sneer 

♦ England under the Stuarts. 



142 THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND. 

at his supposed want of literary acquirements, but these themselves perhaps 
have attained to far less proficiency than the object of their malevolence. 
According to Haller, Cromwell possessed a sound knowledge of the classics 
of Greece and Rome, and on one occasion at least, he ably maintained his 
part in a conference in Latin with the Swedish ambassador. This is but one 
part of that equally diffused intellectual health which he so eminently possessed. 
Never was any ruler so conspicuously born to govern. It has been said,* 
that the cup which has intoxicated almost all others sobered him. His spirit, 
restless from its buoyancy in a lower sphere, reposed in majestic placidity as 
soon as it had reached the level congenial to it. The expansion of his mind 
kept pace with the elevation of his fortunes; he had nothing in common with 
that large class of men who distinguish themselves in lower posts, and betray 
incapacity when the public voice calls them to take the lead. Insignificant a> 
a private citizen, he was a great general, — he was a still greater prince. B} 
the confession of his enemies, he exhibited in his demeanour the simple and 
natural nobleness- of a man neither ashamed of his origin nor vain of his 
elevation, — of a man who had found his proper place in society, and who 
felt secure that he was competent to fill it. Easy even to familiarity where 
his own dignity was concerned, he was punctilious only for his country — and 
prepared to risk the chances of war to avenge the death of the most humble 
of her citizens. 

No sovereign ever carried to the throne so strong a sympathy with the 
feelings and interests of his people. He was sometimes driven to arbitrary 
measures, but he had a high, stout, honest heart. Hence it was that he loved 
to surround his throne with such men as Matthew Hale and Blake. Hence it 
was that he allowed so large a share of political liberty to his subjects, and 
that even when an opposition dangerous to his power and to his person almost 
compelled him to govern by the sword, he was still anxious to leave a germ 
from which, at a more favourable season, free institutions might spring. Had 
it not been for the mad opposition he experienced from his parliaments, his 
government would have been as mild at home as it was energetic and able 
abroad. His administration was glorious, but it was with no vulgar glory. It 
was not one of those periods of overstrained and convulsive exertions which 
necessarily produce debility and languor. It was natural, healthy, temperate. 
He placed England at the head of the Protestant interest and in the first rank 
of Christian powers. He taught every nation to value her friendship and to 
dread her enmity. But he did not squander her resources in a vain attempt 
to invest her with that supremacy which no power in the modern system of 
Europe can safely affect, or can long retain. 

* Edinburgh Review. 





Lon IS SI V. 



CHAPTER VII. 



:®EiliEifiiitEiI limirij^ir He itij? @tmt^ ©f Eouig tfis iPouirtecRtfs. 



T tlie death of Louis XIII., the govern- 
ment of France fell to his queen, Anne of 
Austria, and the crown to his son, who 
was not then five years old. As we have 
seen, all Europe was in a most turbulent 
state, and as France under Richelieu's 
administration had taken an active part in 
exciting the commotion, it was reasonable 
to expect that the reign of the young king 
would be marked by war, violence, and 
intrigue. The queen-mother, Anne of 
Austria, chose for her minister the cardinal 
Mazarin, whose consummate abilities, great 
firmness, and cool temperament, qualified him for the succession to the power 
of his master, Richelieu. Indeed, while he pursued the same general policy, 
his measures were likely to be more successful than those of his predecessor, 
as would appear from the character of them both given by Voltaire. He has 
placed their talents in a just point of view, by applying them to the same object, 
and, to make the illustration more complete, he has introduced a less worthy 

(143) 




144 TIMES OF LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH. 

associate. " If, for example," to use his own words, " the subjection of 
Rochelle had been undertaken by Caesar Borgia, he w^ould, under the sanction 
of the most sacred oaths, have drawn the principal inhabitants into his camp, 
and there have put them to death. Mazarin would have got possession of the 
place two or three years later, by corrupting the magistrates, and sowing dis- 
cord among the citizens. Cardinal Richelieu, in imitation of Alexander the 
Great, laid a boom across the harbour and entered Rochelle as a conqueror, 
but had the sea been a little more turbulent, or the English a little more dili- 
gent, Rochelle might have been saved, and Richelieu called a rash and incon- 
siderate projector."* Mazarin, more supple and cunning than Richelieu, 
employed different means to arrive at the same end, Richelieu grappled with 
and crushed opposition ; Mazarin undermined it at its base, deprived it of 
external succour, and caused it to destroy itself. If his schemes were less 
comprehensive, or his enterprises less bold than those of Richelieu, they were 
less extravagant. The vigour of his spirit was restrained by political caution, 
his shining genius concealed by profound dissimulation, characteristic traits 
which have escaped the notice of most historians, and occasioned others to 
treat with injustice one of the most accomplished statesmen of modern times. 

THE enemies of Richelieu were the enemies of 
Mazarin also ; and to the number of these the new 
minister added many among the great and the 
powerful, whose envy led them to seek his destruc- 
tion. An additional cause of jealousy was found 
in the fact that he was a foreigner. Yet he soon 
showed his determination and ability to support the 
glory of France. The Spaniards, thinking that the 
minority of the king and the internal dissensions afforded a good opportunity 
for renewing hostilities, invaded the country and laid siege to Rocroi. They 
found themselves opposed by an army greatly inferior in numbers, led by an 
inexperienced young man, who was but twenty years of age, and who was 
placed under the counsel of the Marshal de I'Hopital. They considered their 
success certain. When the young general announced to his mentor his inten- 
tion of opening the campaign not by a siege but by a battle, the senior remon- 
strated and all but rebelled. '< Take," said D'Enghien, " the command of the 
second line ; I charge myself with the event." '< The king is just dead," 
rejoined the marshal ; <' the queen-regent's government is hardly yet settled. 
The enemy are aw^are of the fatal consequences which a defeat must at this 
moment bring to France. It is no time to run the risk of such calamity." 
" I shall never witness it," answered the juvenile chief; " I shall enter Paris a 
conqueror or a corpse. To the head of the second line!" and L'Hopital 
covered his hoary head and made a sign of obedience. Truly, as Voltaire 
remarks, this prince was born a general. War, as an art, was in him by 
instinct ; so was coolness, — for, like Alexander the Great, under similar cir- 

* Siecle, torn. i. c. v. 




CIVILWARINFRANCE. 147 

cumstances, after having forced his mentor to give way to his youthful impetu- 
osity, and having himself seen to all the dispositions of his army, he slept so 
profoundly that it was necessary to wake him in the morning. On this day the 
Duke D'Enghien gave promise of the future exploits which gained for him the 
appellation of the great Conde. To appear at the head of the armies of France 
at such an early age was no common glory ; to annihilate with his maiden 
sword the famous Walloon and Castilian infantry, which for a century and a 
half had been considered inv-incible, was of itself sufficient to place his name 
among the highest warriors of that warlike age. 

After the battle, in w^hich the Spanish general Francisco de Melo lost nine 
thousand men, he threw a reinforcement of ten thousand men into Thionville, 
yet it fell before the victorious arms of the young leader. The victories of 
Fribourg and Nordlingen, and the taking of Dunkirk in Flanders, contributed 
to raise his glory still higher. While this able general thus shed lustre upon 
the period of the minority of Louis XIV., the commotions of the Fronde broke 
out in Paris. 

The jealousy of Mazarin's power felt by the nobility, the unpopularity of 
his measures, the disorder of the finances, and the oppression of new taxes 
inflamed the nation ; and the intrigues of the coadjutor-archbishop of Paris, 
afterwards the Cardinal de Retz, blew up this flame into a civil war. The parlia- 
ment of Paris took part with the discontented, who were headed by the Prince 
of Conti, the Dukes of Longueville and Bouillon, and others of the chief nobi- 
lity. Several arrests were made, which irritated the Parisians so much that 
they rose in all parts of the town, barricaded the streets, killed some of the 
soldiers, and continued their acts of violence until the prisoners were liberated. 
This, however, failed to allay the excitement, and the dissensions ended in 
open rebellion. The rebels were called Frondeurs, from the French word for 
sling, because they threw stones at their adversaries by means of slings. The 
other party were called Mazarins, from the name of the minister. Besides 
these there was yet a third party, named Mltiges, which consisted of those who 
did not choose to be ranked with either of the other parties, and who, accord- 
ing to D'Anquetil, waited to range themselves on the side of the conqueror. 

The civil war became so violent as to oblige the queen-regent and the 
young king to quit Paris; they removed to St. Germain, and the ministerial 
party besieged the city. Several combats took place, without any decided 
advantage to either party. A conference was then agreed to, and a treaty con- 
cluded at Rouel, by which a general amnesty was granted and a temporary 
quiet procured, but without extinguishing the hatred of either side. The court 
returned to Paris, and the cardinal was received by the people with expressions 
of joy and satisfaction. But the triumph of Mazarin was of short duration. 
Conde, ever the prey of his ambition, had presumed upon his popularity 
repeatedly to insult the queen, the minister, and De Retz. By the advice of 
this subtle prelate, Conde, the Prince of Conti, and the Duke of Longueville 
were arrested and imprisoned. But their confinement aroused their partisans 
in all parts of the kingdom ; and the Duke of Orleans, uncle to the king, became 



148 TIMES OF LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH. 

the head of the malcontents. Afraid of the storm he had raised, and hoping 
to conciliate the favour of the prisoners, Mazarin released them ; but he him- 
self was obliged to fly, first to Liege and then to Cologne. Yet he exercised 
the same influence over Anne of Austria as though he had never quitted the 
court. With the aid of De Retz, he detached Turenne and his brother, the 
Duke of Bouillon, from the party of Frondeurs, and then re-entered the king- 
dom, escorted by six thousand men. Conde flew to arms, and was declared 
guilty of high treason by the parliament, at the same time that it set a price 
upon the head of Mazarin, against whom only he had taken the field. In this 
extremity of fortune, Conde threw himself upon the protection of Spain, and, 
after pursuing the cardinal and the court from province to province, he entered 
Paris with a body of Spanish troops. The people applauded his valour, and 
the parliament were struck wuth awe. Turenne, who commanded the army of 
the king, now conducted him within sight of the capital, and Louis, from the 
height of Charonne, beheld the famous battle of St. Antoine, where the two 
greatest generals of the age performed wonders at the head of a few men. The 
Duke of Orleans, doubtful what course to pursue, remained shut up in his 
palace, and his example was followed by the coadjutor-archbishop, now Cardi- 
nal de Retz. The parliament awaited in silence the result of the combat, and 
the people, equally afraid of both parties, shut the gates of the city. The 
battle hung long doubtful, and many gallant noblemen were killed or wounded. 
It was at length terminated in favour of the Prince of Conde by the intrepidity 
of the daughter of the Duke of Orleans. This princess, more resolute than her 
father, had the boldness to order the cannon of the Bastile to be fired upon the 
king's troops, and Turenne was forced to retire. The king, then but fifteen 
years of age, attended by Mazarin, witnessed the battle from the heights of 
Charonne. The princess, it was understood, aspired to gain the heart of 
Conde, and when the first cannon was 'fired from the Bastile by her order, 
Mazarin said to the king, " That shot has killed her husband." 

Conde entered Paris, which soon grew too hot to hold him, and he left it, 
while Louis, having attained his majority, attempted to appease his subjects 
by appearing to dismiss Mazarin. He repaired to Sedan in 1652, after which 
the king again took possession of Paris ; and in order to restore entire tranquil- 
lity, he issued a proclamation, in which he dismissed his minister, while he 
praised his services and lamented his banishment. Quiet having returned, 
Louis, in February, 1653, invited him back to Paris. The king received him 
like a father, the people submitted to him as a master. Princes, ambassadors, 
and the parliament hastened to wait upon him. The disturbances in the pro- 
vinces were soon entirely quelled, and Conde, who had fled to the Spanish 
Netherlands, was declared a traitor. The Spaniards had profited by the inter- 
nal dissensions to conquer from France Barcelona, Gravelines, and Dunkirk. 
Mazarin now prosecuted the war with Spain with redoubled diligence, and for 
that end formed an alliance in 1656 with Cromwell. On this occasion he 
despatched an embassy to Cromwell, in which the Duke de Crequi, and Man- 
cini, duke de Nevers, appeared, followed by two hundred gentlemen. Man- 



AFFAIRS OF GERMANY. 151 

cini presented a letter to the Protector from the cardinal, of which the language 
is not a little remarkable. It in substance declared that " he was much grieved 
to find it was not in his power to pay his respects personally to the greatest 
man in the world." Whether Richelieu would have held this flattering lan- 
guage to such a personage may be matter of doubt. By this means, Dunkirk 
was again taken and a peace soon after concluded. Mazarin himself nego- 
tiated with the Spanish minister, Don Louis de Haro, on the isle of Pheasants. 
This peace of the Pyrenees was followed by the marriage of the king with the 
Spanish infanta, and Mazarin gained great honour by his successful policy. 
He was now more powerful than ever ; he appeared with regal pomp, being 
regularly attended by a company of musketeer guards, in addition to his 
body-guard. 

From this time until his death in 1661, Mazarin held uncontested sway 
over the destinies of France. He left at his death an immense fortune, and 
though he came to France an indigent foreigner, he married seven daughters 
to French noblemen of the first distinction, and left his nephew Duke of Nevers. 
He had the singular honour of extending the limits of the French monarchy, at 
the very time when it was distracted by intestine wars, and when, in the case 
of the treaty of Westphalia, he was himself an exile : and to his political fore- 
sight in regard to the Spanish succession, the house of Bourbon owed much of 
its subsequent influence in the affairs of Europe. 

Louis, who had been a mere puppet in the hands of his minister, now 
came to the sovereign power. Colbert, a friend and disciple of Mazarin, was 
placed at the head of the finances, and rendered them more flourishing than 
they had been for years ; commerce augmented ; Dunkirk and Marseilles were 
declared free ports, and filled with the ships of all nations ; Paris was much 
embellished, and her streets were paved and lighted ; and the canal of Langue- 
doc, for uniting the ocean with the Mediterranean, was begun. Literature, 
which had been adorned in England under Charles L by Milton and Ben Jon- 
son, now shone resplendent in France through the genius of Moliere, Racine, 
and Boileau. Heroes like Conde and Turenne led the armies of France to 
certain victory, and the sagacity, activity, and zeal of Louvois prepared both 
the way and the means. 

Ferdinand III. had been succeeded in Germany by his son Leopold, after 
a stormy interregnum of fifteen months. (A. D. 1658.) As head of the Aus- 
trian house, and Emperor of Germany, he was naturally a rival and enemy 
of Louis. Besides Austria, he possessed Bohemia and Hungary ; he had 
extensive military forces in his hereditary states ; and Spain was attached to 
his cause both by family ties and political interest. But poor in ideas of his 
own, adhering merely to customary forms and transmitted axioms, a docile tool 
of unfaithful ministers and bad priests, afraid of light, inactive, fearing heresy 
rather than the arms of Louis, and his subjects' love of liberty more than his 
victorious neighbours the Turks, revering his confessor as first counsellor and 
the Jesuits as men of salvation, Leopold dreamed quietly of the immutable 
grandeur of his house, or left the care of it to heaven and his allies, while the 



152 TIMES OF LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH. 

ambitious and active ruler of France was building himself an empire at the 
expense of Austria. 

At the death of Philip IV. of Spahi, Louis claimed the Spanish Netherlands 
in right of his wife, the daughter of Philip by his first marriage. He asserted 
in support of his claim, that females could inherit according to the custom of 
Brabant, and that his queen should have precedence of an infant brother, the 
offspring of a second marriage. Ajina Maria of Austria, the queen-regent of 
Spain, like her relative Leopold, paid far more attention to heresies than to the 
encroachments of her neighbours. She was entirely governed by her German 
confessor, the Jesuit Nithard, whose arrogance and ignorance are best exempli- 
fied by his own remark to a disrespectful nobleman. << You ought," said he, 
" to revere the man who has every day your God in his hands and your queen 
at his feet." 

Louis entered Flanders at the head of a powerful army, and found the 
Spaniards almost wholly unprepared for resistance. With Turenne for general, 
he was invincible. Charleroi, Ath, Tournai, Furnes, Courtrai, Douai, and 
Lille, all fell into his hands in quick succession ; he garrisoned them with 
French troops, and employed the celebrated Vauban to construct new fortifica- 
tions. Lnmediately after this campaign, Louis marched into the Spanish pro- 
vince of Franche Compte, and, though it was in the middle of winter, he 
conquered it in less than a month. Fortifications falling into ruin, a treasury 
without money, ports without ships, troops without discipline, officers ill-paid 
and incompetent, — these were the only preparations which Nhhard opposed to 
the arms of an enemy whose affairs were in a condition totally the reverse. 

All Europe was startled at the success of Louis. Troops were immediately 
raised in all parts of the German empire ; the Swiss trembled for that liberty 
for which they professed so much reverence ; the Dutch, friends of France at a 
distance, dreaded her as a close neighbour. They found relief in the midst of 
their fears, from an unexpected quarter. Charles IL, who was now seated on 
the throne of England, either jealous of Louis or anxious to acquire popularity, 
concluded a defensive alliance between England and Holland ; and Sweden 
shortly afterwards acceded to it. (A. D. 1668.) 

The politic Louis stopped short in his career. He affected contempt at 
the daring of a little state like Holland, to think of checking him, but finding 
that the coalition would succeed in its object, he himself proposed to open 
conferences at Aix la Chapelle. Clement IX. was appointed mediator, and he 
therefore sent a nuncio to the congress. The despised Dutch refused to follow 
this course, and insisted on their ambassador, Van Beunning, treating person- 
ally with Louis, and that which was then agreed upon was forwarded to Aix 
la Chapelle to be formally signed. The determined tone of Van Beunning 
greatly chafed the mighty monarch, whose imperious grandeur, according to 
Voltaire, was shocked at every turn. Nor would Beunning's republican 
inflexibility submit to the tone of superiority assumed by France and 
Spain. In short, a peace was concluded, in authoritative manner, by a burgo- 
master, at the court of the most superb of monarchs, by which the King of 



WAR WITH HOLLAND. 153 

France was compelled to restore Franche Compte. This pacified the mass of 
complainants, though the Dutch would gladly have torn the Low Countries 
from his grasp. Louis was aware that he did better by keeping Flanders, 
whence he conceived plans to destroy Holland at the very time he appeared to 
comply with all its demands. 

The French king had to endure another mortification. The Turks, under 
the administration of the Vizier Kuproeli,had again become formidable. They 
compelled the German emperor to conclude peace on terms highly favourable 
to their interests, and wrested Candia from the Venetians, in spite of the efforts 
made by Louis to save the place. In the siege of the city, the Turks excelled 
the Christians in their knowledge of the military art ; the largest cannon Europe 
had ever seen were cast in their camp ; they drew parallel lines in the trenches, 
and while an Italian engineer supplied this knowledge, Europe acquired it 
there. The Turks might now have extended their conquest over all Italy, but 
for their bad generals, their weak monarchs, and their debasing system of 
government. 

None of his designs upon Holland could be well accomplished by Louis 
without the aid of Charles of England. Being well acquainted with the profli- 
gate habits of the English monarch, Louis was enabled to conclude a secret 
treaty with him, in which it was agreed that Charles should receive a large 
pension from France, in return for which he should co-operate in the conquest 
of the Netherlands, propagate the Catholic faith in his dominions, and publicly 
announce his conversion to that religion. The bargain having been concluded, 
the war was immediately commenced. Louis, without waiting for a pretext, 
seized the duchy of Lorraine ; and Charles attempted the capture of a Dutch 
fleet before he had announced his dissatisfaction with the late treaty. The 
Swedes, forgetting the triple alliance, suffered themselves to maintain a hired 
neutrality. Louis led a hundred thousand men well equipped to the frontiers, 
a force the like of which Europe had never seen. Turenne and Conde, each 
a host in himself, led this enormous force, and under their direction the wise 
Marshal of Luxembourg, and the great Vauban, who immortalized himself in 
the science of fortifications and sieges, fought with an emulation worthy of such 
models. The troops of Maximilian of Bavaria contributed to swell the numbers 
of this host, and the terrified Dutch saw the unprincipled Bernard von Galen, 
bishop of Munster, advancing hostilely against them, while the Emperor, the 
princes of the empire, and Spain remained idle spectators. Louis ordered his 
troops to advance towards the Rhine in those provinces which border upon 
Holland, Cologne, and Flanders. The division which he himself accompanied 
numbered 30,000 men, and was commanded by Turenne, while Conde led 
another ; the remainder were kept separate under Chamilli and Luxembourg. 
Orsoi, Wesel, Burick, and Rhinberg fell without a stroke ; the towns on the 
Rhine and the Issel surrendered in quick succession, some of the governors 
sending their keys the moment they caught a view of the French, others flying 
away in consternation, while a part, yet more base, opened their gates for a 
consideration in gold. It was the general expectation that all Holland would 
Vol. III. 20 



154 TIMES OF LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH. 

be subdued as soon as Louis crossed the Rhine. Inquiring of the country 
people, the French learned that from the dryness of the season the Rhine was 
fordable opposite an old town used by the Hollanders as a toll-house, near 
where the Issel separates from the Rhine. Keeping the intention secret, Louis 
set out late in the evening of June 7th, 1672, taking with him the heavy 
cavalry ; once across, he could easily maintain his position till the remainder 
of the army followed. Conde accompanied him. The king directed the Count 
de Guiche to sound the river ; it was discovered that only forty or fifty paces in 
the middle required swimming. As there were on the Holland side only 400 
or 500 cavalry, the passage was considered easy ; and the household troops 
and the best of the cavalry, to the number of 15,000, safely crossed under cover 
of the French artillery. 

The Dutch cavalry fled with little opposition, and the infantry laid down 
their arms and begged for quarter. Except a few drunken soldiers no lives 
were lost in the passage, nor would one have been killed but for the imprudence 
of the Duke of Longueville, who, being intoxicated himself, fired a pistol at 
one of the suppliant soldiers, exclaiming, "No quarter to such scoundrels!" 
The shot killed one of the officers, the Dutch infantry flew to their arms and 
fired a volley, whereby the duke was slain. A captain of horse, named Ossem- 
bronk, who had not fled, ran up to Conde, then in the act of mourning his 
horse, and clapped his pistol to the prince's head. Conde, by a quick movement, 
diverted the direction of the shot, so that he was only wounded in the wrist. 
However strange it may seem, this was the only wound the Prince of Conde 
ever received in all his campaigns. The French became enraged, and pur- 
suing the enemy killed several, but had the Hollanders conducted with the 
skill and management they had shown in former days, the passage of the 
Rhine might have cost their invaders dear. The wound of Conde was suffi- 
cient to disable him, and he appears to have been absent for some time. Im- 
mediately after the passage of the Rhine, Doesbourg, Skeck, Bommel, and 
Crevecoeur fell into the hands of the French, Utrecht surrendered, Guelders and 
Naerden followed its example ; one step more and Amsterdam had fallen too, 
and with it the little republic. 

William III. of Orange was its saviour. At the approach of danger this 
prince, but twenty-two years of age, was elected captain-general. The people 
needed a name in which they could confide. The prince soon displayed talents 
worthy of his name. Moderate, self-commanding, taciturn, firm, bold, inde- 
fatigable, prepared for every exploit, this young warrior commanded confidence 
from the commencement of his career. When consternation was general, when 
the danger was hourly and fearfully increasing, he showed himself calm, 
undaunted, able in action and in counsel. He collected all the means of 
defence that were left, called on the European courts for aid, and reanimated 
the national spirit of his companions. The love of independence and the hatred 
of foreign dominion broke out with inconceivable ardour in Amsterdam, where 
the nobler and the more wealthy citizens were resolved to emigrate to the East 
Indies rather than to submit to France. The Dutch populace ungratefully 



ASSASSINATION OF THE DE WITTS. 157 

vented their rage upon their able pensionary, John de Witt, and his brother 
Cornelius. The latter was arrested on a charge of treason, and when his bro- 
ther John went to visit and console him, a tumult arose in the streets, the 
prison doors were forced open, and both the brothers were dragged out and 
immediately murdered, with circumstances of the most disgusting barbarity. 
Just before this tragical occurrence, De Witt had been removed from his office 
of pensionary, and the stadtholdership, with the dignities attached to it, had 
been given to William of Orange and made hereditary in his family. Two 
years later, the dignities of captain-general and grand admiral were added to 
his title of stadtholder, and his prerogatives were greatly extended. Guelders 
even offered him absolute sovereignty. 

The victorious progress of Louis was soon to be ended. The people of 
Holland dug through the dykes, the sea rushed in and overwhelmed the whole 
country, so that Amsterdam appeared like a vast fortress in the midst of the 
ocean, surrounded by ships of war, which came up to its very gates. The crops 
were ruined and the cattle drowned ; yet the people bore the loss with a resig- 
nation only equalled by their firm determination not to survive the destruction 
of the country. Several efforts were made to corrupt the Prince of Orange, 
but they were sternly rejected ; when told that the ruin of his country was 
inevitable, he replied that there was one way by which he could be certain not 
to see its ruin, to die disputing the last ditch. His resolution awakened the 
admiration of all Europe, and the Emperor Leopold, the Elector of Branden- 
burg, and the governor of the Spanish Netherlands took up arms in defence 
of Holland, while Louis, finding that no more conquests were to be made in a 
country covered with water, returned home, leaving garrisons in the captured 
fortresses. 

The war was continued for six years longer, during which nearly every 
place that had been taken by the French in the United Provinces was recovered. 
The fortune of war was again turned, however, and the Dutch sought a peace. 
Louis therefore concluded the treaty of Nimeguen, by which France acquired 
an increase of power, dangerous to all the neighbouring states. (A. D. 1678.) 

In the same year the Prince of Orange married the princess Mary, daughter 
of the Duke of York, a union which afterwards brought him to the throne of 
England. Inexhaustible in expedients, he had fought gloriously, though 
unsuccessfully, against Turenne, Conde, Schomberg, Luxembourg, and the 
Duke of Orleans, During the war, the great Turenne lost his life by a fatal 
shot near Sasbach, while reconnoitering the position of the enemy. The ball 
which killed him carried away the arm of General de St. Hilaire, who, upon 
his son's bursting out into tears at the sight, exclaimed, <«Not for me, but for 
this great man must you weep." The highest honour was shown by the king 
to his remains. Turenne possessed, under a rough and ordinary exterior, a 
great mind. His disposition was cold ; his manners decorous and simple. 
He was not always fortunate in war, and committed some errors ; but he always 
repaired them, and accomplished much with small means. He was esteemed 
the most skilful commander in Europe, even at a time when the art of w^ar was 

O 



158 TIMES OF LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH. 

more studied than it had ever been before. Although reproached for deserting 
his party in the wars of the Fronde ; although at the age of nearly sixty years 
he suffered himself to be seduced by love to disclose a state secret ; although 
he committed unnecessary cruelties in his wars ; yet he maintained the reputa- 
tion of a man of veracity, wisdom, and moderation ; for his super-eminent vir- 
tues and talents amply sufficed to cover the weaknesses and the faults which he 
had in common wdth so many others. 

After the peace of Nimeguen, it would have been politic for Louis to 
have ceased prosecuting for a while his plans of aggrandizement ; but he imme- 
diately after established the Reunions at Metz and Brisach. A number of places 
with all their appurtenances had been ceded to him by the late treaties, though 
it had not been decided what really did appertain to them. It was the office 
of these chambers of reunions to accord him under the form of right everything 
that could be considered in any way as belonging to those places. France, in 
this manner, acquired large districts on the borders of the Netherlands and of 
Germany. Louis would gladly have obtained Strasburg, but as even the 
chambers of reunions could start no formal claim to it, this important place was 
quietly surrounded by soldiers, and compelled to surrender, in 1681, without 
striking a blow. 

On the same day that Strasburg fell, the Marquis de Bouffleurs entered 
Cassel, which had been sold to the king by the Duke of Mantua. In the suc- 
ceeding years, the Chambers, acting always to the satisfaction of their master, 
decreed the occupation of Courtrai, Dixmude, and Luxembourg. The diet of 
Ratisbon exhausted itself in useless protestations against the course of the 
French monarch. It was evident that Louis wished for war, and, without the 
usual initiative, that intention was sufficiently announced by his armaments, so 
much so that no declaration was necessary. A hundred and fifty thousand 
men, well armed and w^ell disciplined, were exercised in camp manoeuvres 
every day. Vauban made of France one vast camp, with entrenchments for 
twenty millions of men ; while, under the genius of the wise minister Colbert, 
she became a maritime power. The military port of Brest was enlarged ; that 
of Toulon created, at an immense expense, and rendered capable of containing 
a hundred vessels of war, with an arsenal and a proportionate materiel. The 
like was done at Dunkirk, and on a still greater scale at Rochefort. Companies 
of coast guards were created, and sixty thousand new sailors were obtained 
from the mercantile shipping. In a short time Louis XIV. had two hundred 
ships, and a hundred thousand seamen to man them. This was effected by the 
Marquis de Seignelay, the son of the deceased Colbert. 

To prove to Europe that this young navy, w^hich had been created in a 
day, would be capable of sustaining its rank among its marine rivals, Louis 
sent his squadron, under the command of Admiral Duquesne, to clear the 
Mediterranean of the pirates by whom it had been infested. He avenged him- 
self on Algiers by a new art, the discovery of which was due to that attention 
which he had bestowed on calling into action all the genius of his age. This 
dismal, but admirable art, consisted in the employment of bomb-ships, bv 



MORTARS USED AGAINST ALGIERS. 161 

means of which maritime cities might be reduced to ashes. There was then 
living a young man by the name of Bernard Renaud, who, without having 
served in a ship, had become, by the mere exertions of genius, an excellent 
mariner. Colbert loved to detect merit in obscurity, and had often caused him 
to be brought before the council on marine affairs, even in the presence of the 
king. It was from the care, labour, and intelligence of Renaud, acted upon 
by a more regular method, that after some time the workmen under the govern- 
ment succeeded in the construction of galliots. He did not scruple to propose 
to the council that Algiers should be bombarded by the fleet. Till then, no 
one had had an idea that mortars with bombs could by possibility be used any- 
where but on land. The proposition was thought extravagant. Renaud had 
to bear those contradi. tions, and that unsparing ridicule which every inventor 
ought to expect ; but the firmness and eloquence of this man, added to a strong 
sense of the importance of his invention, induced the king to permit an experi- 
ment to be made with the formidable novelty. In consequence of this decision, 
Renaud caused five vessels to be constructed, smaller than ordinary ships, but 
with stronger timbers, without a deck, with a false tiller in the hold, on which 
they formed masses of brickwork, capable of receiving the mortars which were 
to be employed. He sailed with this preparation, under the orders of the old 
Admiral Duquesne, who was intrusted with the command of the expedition, 
but who avowed that he had no expectation of success. He was no less 
astonished than the Algerines to find that by the bombs a great portion of the 
city was in ruins or consumed in a short time. Thrice was Algiers bombarded 
by Duquesne and D'Estrees, and forced to give up all Christian prisoners and 
to sue for peace. This art soon found its way to other nations, and served but 
to extend the list of human calamities. It was more than once used with the 
most fatal effect against France, where it was invented. 

Having concluded the war in the Mediterranean, Louis humbled the pride 
and arrogance of the Genoese, offended the pope, and prepared actively for a 
war with coalesced Europe. In the name of the Duchess of Orleans, a princess 
of the palatine house, he demanded a large part of the inheritance of her bro- 
ther, the Elector Charles. At the same time Cardinal Egon, of Furstenburg, 
a man devoted to the interests of Louis, was at his desire appointed archbishop 
and Elector of Cologne. But the Emperor declared this prince indifferent to 
the interests of Germany, and procured the archbishopric for Joseph Clement, 
prince of Bavaria. (A. D. 1688.) 

Louis invaded the empire immediately, took in the first campaign Philips- 
burg, with many other cities on the Rhine, and laid the country far around 
under contribution. The Emperor was incessantly occupied with the Turks ; 
the empire, as usual, was weak, divided, almost lifeless. Spain could do 
nothing ; Denmark and England were in alliance witn Louis ; and the whole 
hope of the continent centered in William of Orange. Suddenly this gallant 
prince became King of England, and his elevation was the signal for the decline 
of the grandeur of his adversary, Louis XIV. 
Vol. III. 21 o 2 



162 TIMES OF LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH. 

The enemies of France gradually concluded an alliance at Vienna. (1689 
and 1690.) England now closely connected with Holland, Bavaria, and 
Saxony ; Spain and Savoy, and even Denmark acceded to the alliance, and 
Louis stood alone. The Swiss, however, concluded a treaty of neutrality with 
him, and the Turks, for their own interests, waged war against the empire. In 
a nine years' war against one half of Europe, France again displayed her 
astonishing power, and remained, though without decisive triumph, rather vic- 
torious than vanquished. From the frontiers of Germany, the first theatre of 
hostilities, the war extended gradually to the Netherlands, to Ireland, Italy, 
Spain, and even to the seas and countries of the New World. On the Rhine, 
the king took the defensive, and attempted to secure his frontiers by making 
the palatinate on both banks of that river a desert. The inhabitants still recall 
the day when their ancestors were told that the whole palatinate must be aban- 
doned, because the army of his most Christian majesty had received orders to 
lay it in ruins with fire and sword, to destroy the innumerable towns and vil- 
lages, flourishing and populous, which diversified its surface. Heidelberg, 
Spires, Frankenthal, and Worms still exhibit the ruins of their ancient walls, 
show traces of the torch which consumed them, point to the desecrated graves 
of the electors, and mourn the ashes of the ancient Emperors, scattered to the 
winds. 

King William, who was the most odious of all his enemies to Louis, expe- 
rienced severely the displeasure of the French monarch. The fugitive king, 
James II., having met with a most brilliant reception at the French court, soon 
sailed with a well-equipped fleet to Ireland. Louis also projected a descent 
upon England, in favour of the exiled king. In July, 1690, the illustrious 
Admiral Tourville had gained a brilliant victory over the combined fleets of 
England and Holland, near Dieppe, and France for a time was mistress of the 
sea. But two years afterwards the same admiral was completely defeated by 
Lord Russell near La Hogue, after a naval engagement of three days. The 
English proudly boasted that the maritime power of France was destroyed for 
ever. But a few days after the battle, that portion of the French fleet which 
escaped succeeded in capturing two merchant fleets. 

In the following year the squadron of Tourville and D'Estrees formed 
ninety-five sail. On the 27th of June, 1693, Tourville attacked between Logos 
and Cadiz a convoy of the Levant, escorted by twenty-seven ships of war- 
under Admiral Sir George Rooke. But fifteen ships of the escort escaped ; the 
rest were taken or sunk with the convoy consisting of eighty sail. This single 
victory cost the allies more than 40,000,000. But it was not so much the royal 
navies that damaged the commerce of England and Holland as the corsairs, 
which were most active in their depredations. Squadrons or single cruisers, 
commanded by Jean Bart, Duguay-Trouan, Forbin, Nesmond, and Pointis 
Ducasse, enriched Dunkirk, Dieppe, Havre, and St. Malo with the spoils of the 
merchants of London, Cadiz, and Amsterdam. In the course of nine years, 
St. Malo saw two hundred and sixty-two ships of war, and three thousand three 






NAVAL OPERATIONS. 



163 




TOnnVILLB S VICTOBT NEAR DIEPr: 



hundred and eighty merchant vessels brought as prizes into its harbour. The 
English wished to make short work of these insignificant towns. St. Malo was 
attacked first ; but the infernal machine which was to have reduced it to ashes 
missed its aim, and spent itself in illuminating the ocean for more than half a 
league around. In the following' year Brest was attempted, but in vain, 
Vauban had armed the road with four hundred pieces of cannon. Unfortu- 
nately, Dieppe was reduced to ruins. Havre was bombarded with little effect, 
and two new infernal machines failed before Dunkirk, as the first had before 
St. Malo. The Dutch had even the mortification to see from their coast Jean 
Bart surprise their fleet, snatch from it a prize convoy of grain, which Louis 
had caused to be brought from the Baltic, and carry it triumphantly through 
the midst of a blockading English squadron into Dunkirk. 



164 



TIMES OF LOUIS T H 1<: F U R T E E N T H. 




N the Netherlands, the war was bloody and 
fortune fickle. Luxembourg, the great pupil of 
Conde and Turenne, commanded the forces of 
.X Louis, and gained the first great victory, at 
, \ Fleurus. (July 16, 1690.) But King William 
^W ^ arrested the progress of the victor through all the 
l\"3^o - following year. Luxembourg first gained the 
decided superiority in 1692, and took the strong 
city of Namur. On the third of August, William 
attempted to surprise him at Steinkirk, and par- 
tially succeeded. Luxembourg, though severely indisposed, rallied the fugi- 
tives, placed himself at their head, and soon restored the battle, and forced the 
English to retreat. Desirous not to be in debt, Luxembourg afterwards repaid 
the attempt of William by surprising him at Nerwinde, The king lay in an 
entrenched camp defended by a hundred pieces of cannon, where he was sud- 
denly attacked by Luxembourg, whom he supposed to be far away besieging 
Liege. Three times the village was taken and retaken. Luxembourg threw 
himself into the entrenchments. William sustained the attack for ten hours, 
when a reserved body of the French king's household troops, having taken 
Nerwinde in the rear, established Luxembourg definitively in possession of the 
village. "Oh! the insolent nation," was the exclamation of W^illiam, as he 
retired from before the charge of the French cavalry. The allies precipitately 
retreated, leaving on the battle-field twelve thousand killed and wounded, two 
thousand prisoners, seventy-six pieces of cannon, eight mortars, nine pontoons, 
the materiel of their artillery, sixty standards, and twenty-two colours. This 
was the last campaign of Luxembourg, and, we may add, the most honourable. 
He died at Versailles, January 4th, 1695, and was succeeded by a courtier 
named Villeroy, whose operations were a series of faults, profiting by which, 
William retook Namur, and had the advantage till the end of the war. 

In Italy, Marshal Catinat acquired scarcely less glory than Luxembourg. 
He defeated the Duke of Savoy at StafTard, August, 1690, and followed up his 
victory by another, in which the enemy left twelve thousand men and all his 
artillery on the field of battle. The duke abandoned all Piedmont to tlie victors. 
But the war was by this time very much out of favour in France, and even 
Louis himself was desirous of peace. He therefore invited the mediation of 
Sweden, and proposals were submitted by the mediator to Holland and the 
Emperor. W'hile the attention of Europe was directed to the progress of this 
negotiation, Louis concluded a treaty with Victor of Savoy, judging it better, 
as at Nimeguen, to separate the allies by detaching their interests. The duke 
received favourable terms ; he recovered his states, even Pignerol, which how- 
ever was dismantled ; and married his daughter to the Duke of Burgundy, the 
grandson of Louis XIV. The other allies, having renewed their alliance in the 
Hague, August 18, 1695, continued the war, but without advantage. The 
French, who had previously made an irruption into Catalonia, now subjected 
Barcelona. In the New World, the Commodore de Pointis surprised Cartha- 



THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. 167 

gena, one of the richest cities in Spanish America, inflicted on the Spaniards a 
loss of thirty millions, and returned to France, having successfully avoided 
the British cruisers ; while Duguay-Trouin captured a Dutch fleet on its way 
from Bilboa. 

Spain now hastened to bring the war to a conclusion, and a general peace 
was speedily concluded at Ryswick, A. D. 1697. By this treaty Louis engaged 
not to disturb King William in the possession of his states, and to give his 
enemies no assistance. Between France and Holland all old and new preten- 
sions were to be reciprocally annihilated. Spain recovered what it had lost 
by conquest, or by the chambers of reunion, with some few exceptions. The 
treaty with the Emperor and the empire gave Strasburg to Louis, but restored 
all the other places which he had gained since the treaty of Nimeguen, with 
Friburg, Brisach, and Philipsburg. The Duke of Lorraine recovered his 
country also, with the exception of Sarrelouis ; the King of France retaining 
the right to a free passage through the duchy. In regard to all other consider- 
ations, the treaties of Westphalia and Nimeguen were expressly confirmed. 
Europe was astonished at the moderation of France. In the war, she had 
found both victory and glory, and it was unusual for her to show forbearance 
toward an unsuccessful enemy. The wise saw in this relinquishment of one 
scheme of ambition the prognostics of others far more dangerous. 

The declining health of the King of Spain, Charles II., engaged the gene- 
ral attention of Europe after the peace of Ryswick ; three princes being candi- 
dates for the succession — Louis XIV., the Emperor Leopold, and the Elector 
of Bavaria. A secret treaty of partition was concluded between Louis and 
William of Orange, but Charles II. received an intimation of this transaction, 
and, enraged that his dominions should be shared before his death, he pro- 
claimed the Prince of Bavaria sole heir.* But this prince soon after died sud- 
denly, and negotiations were renewed. The Spanish court decided in favour 
of the Archduke Charles, the younger son of the Emperor Leopold, and only 
demanded that the Emperor should send this prince to Spain, with a body of 
twelve thousand men. But the imperial court, with unaccountable parsimony, 
declined the proposal. A new treaty of division was arranged by France, 
Holland, and England, but the Emperor protested against it. Meanwhile, by 
adroitness and gold, the French minister at Madrid had gained over a powerful 
party for the Bourbon interest ; the pope, Innocent XII., was induced to decide 
in favour of the French claims ; a new will was made, and Philip, duke of 
Anjou, the grandson of Louis, was nominated heir to the crown of Spahi. 
(A. D. 1700.) 

Charles soon after died, and Louis, with some hesitation between the will 
and the partition treaty, proclaimed his grandson King of Spain, under the title 
of Philip V. He went to Madrid in 1701 ; all the provinces submitted, some 
silently, others with servile acclamations. England and Holland also acknow- 
ledged him as king. All the other powers did the same ; the Emperor only 
excepted. He immediately declared his opposition, and sent troops against 



168 



TIMES OF LOUIS THE F U R T E E N T H. 




Milan as an opened fief of the empire ; his troops being led by Prince Eugene 
of Savoy, one of the greatest generals of the age. 

The Emperor also earnestly solicited the other powers to league with him 
for the highest interests of his house, as well as for those of Europe. The 
maritime powers concluded an alliance with the Emperor, which, however, 
would probably have been frustrated by the British parliament, but for the im- 
prudence of Louis in hazarding an insult to the British nation. (A. D. 1701.) 
On the death of James II., Louis caused his son, commonly called the old 
pretender, to be recognised King of Great Britain and Ireland, under the title 
of James III. (A. D. 1701.) 

HE parliament at once entered heartily into the 
war, which they had hitherto disapproved, and 
the death of William himself did not abate their 
ardour. His successor, Queen Anne, declared 
her intention of adhering to the policy of her pre- 
decessor. The empire, the Emperor, England, 
and Holland were now again all at war with 
France. At the commencement of the same year, 
1702, Frederic I., King of Prussia, formerly Elec- 
tor of Brandenburg, entered into a strict alliance 
with the Emperor, in grateful acknowledgment 
of the deference shown by Leopold in recognising 
him in his new quality of king. With the exception of Bavaria and Cologne, 
the whole empire was united whh its head, and Portugal and Savoy were also 
withdrawn from the French alliance. France, however, preserved the advan- 
tage during the first years of hostilities. The first event of the war was the 
defeat of the French at Chiari on the Oglio ; their forces being there conducted 
by Catinat and Villeroi, under the Duke of Savoy. In the following year, 
Eugene surprised Cremona, where Villeroi was made prisoner. The French 
king appointed the Duke of Vendome to the head of the army ; this favourite 
of the soldiers revived their courage and led them to victory at Lu^^ara. 

About this time, a formidable enemy to France arose in England, in the 
person of Churchill, duke of Marlborough, who governed Anne through the 
ascendency which his wife had gained over that queen. Of all the enemies 
France has had, Marlborough was, perhaps, the most terrible. In 1702, he 
beat the Duke of Burgimdy and Marshal Boufflers in Flanders, and freed the 
whole country on the Meuse from Spanish domination. The same year the 
French and Spanish fleets were beaten in the port of Vigo in Galicia by Admi- 
ral Rooke and the Duke of Ormond, who captured the rich galleons from the 
Havana. In Germany, Catinat had hesitated to cross the Rhine, but Villars, 
who was his lieutenant, resolved to repair the disasters of his country, passed 
the river and assailed the enemy near the castle of Friedlingen. Notwithstand- 
ing a terrible fire of artillery and musketry, the French troops carried the 
heights of Tulick, the possession of which decided the fate of the day. The 
imperial troops were overthrown and driven from the field, but a moment of 



THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM. 171 

trouble wellnigh changed the triumph into a defeat. The troops, carried on 
by the ardour of pursuit, had followed the enemy into the plain almost to the 
castle of Friedlingen, when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a 
party of the enemy. This was the cavalry of the Prince of Baden, which had 
been forced by that of Villars. The French infantry thought themselves cut 
off from the rest of the army, and a cry of alarm sounded through the batta- 
lions. Villars marked the disorder and hesitation, ran up to the front, seized 
a standard, and led them again into the fight, shouting Vive le Roi — the victory 
is ours. His presence of mind restored the fortune of his arms, the enemy was 
routed, and the soldiers of Villars proclaimed him a Marshal of France on the 
field. The king ratified the choice and wrote to the victorious general, ' I 
unite my voice to that of my brave soldiers." 

Villars followed up his success by a second victory at Hochstett, at the 
same time that the French general Tallard gained a victory at Spirbach, there- 
by opening up the road to Vienna. But the Duke of Savoy changed sides at 
the very time when the able Villars was recalled in consequence of a disagree- 
ment between himself and the Elector of Bavaria. The Count Marsin succeeded 
to the head of the army, while Villars was sent to put down an insurrection of 
the Protestant refugees in the Cevennes. Portugal also deserted the French 
alliance, and this series of disasters did not end here. 

Tallard having led an army into Germany, and formed a junction with 
the Elector of Bavaria and Count Marsin, the combined leaders met the enemy 
under Marlborough and Eugene. Each army was about eighty thousand strong, 
and the battle was fought at Hochstett, at the very spot and almost on the anni- 
versary of that w^hich Villars had gained the preceding year. Fortune was at 
this time unpropitious to France. Tallard was taken prisoner, and his col- 
leagues retreated in such an unskilful manner that their troops were totally 
routed. France lost fifty thousand men and a hundred leagues of territory. 
Tallard's misfortune is to be ascribed to his defective vision. His troops fled 
in all directions, and the panic was complete ; thousands threw themselves into 
the Danube and were drowned. Great numbers sought shelter in the adjacent 
village of Blenheim, which gives its name to the battle ; there 1300 officers 
and 12,000 common soldiers laid down their arms to the Earl of Orkney. The 
earl had entered the village on horseback, accompanied by a French officer 
named Desnouvilles. His brother officers crowded around them and said, 
" Do you bring an English prisoner with you ?" He replied, " No, gentlemen, 
I am the prisoner, and come to tell you that you have no other course to take 
but surrender yourselves prisoners of war ; and here is my Lord Orkney, who 
offers you terms of capitulation." All these veterans expressed the utmost 
astonishment ; the regiment of Navarre tore their colours and buried them 
under the ground. Compelled however by necessity, they yielded.* 

Eugene now swept all Bavaria ; Prince Louis of Baden took Landau ; and 
Marlborough, having repassed the Rhine, made himself master of Treves and 

* Boniifichoso. Voltaire. Bensley. 



172 



TIMES OF LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH. 



Traarback. The Elector of Bavaria, now become a fugitive, retired to Brussels ; 
the electress submitted to the terms of the victors. Ingoldstadt and all the for- 
tified places in the electorate, with their magazines, were given up to the allies; 
the towns and cities before conquered by France were restored to the empire. 
Marlborough was made a prince of the empire, by way of testifying the grati- 
tude of the Germans for his eminent services. It is said that in his flight the 
Elector of Bavaria met with his brother, the Elector of Cologne, who was 
likewise driven from his dominions ; they embraced each other and shed 
tears. 

HE war of the Cevennes became 
every day more formidable. The 
Calvinist mountaineers organized 
themselves into regular regiments, 
under the name of Camisards. Louis 
XIV. so far subdued his pride as to 
treat, as power with power, with such 
of their chiefs as had escaped his 
executioners ; and one of these, 
named Cavalier, celebrated for his 
invincible valour, and formerly but a 
baker's boy, obtained a colonel's 
commission and a pension from the 
proud sovereign who had revoked the 
Edict of Nantes. Villars was the 
author of this necessary peace. In 1704, Spain lost Gibraltar, which was seized 
by the English, and has ever since remauied in their possession. In 1705, 
under Peterborough, they took Barcelona, where the x^rchduke Charles was 
proclaimed King of Spain, and the series of misfortunes which pursued the 
sovereigns of Spain and France was alone broken by the victory of Cassano in 
Piedmont, gained by Vendome over Eugene. In 1706, Marlborough gained 
the battle of Ramilies over Villeroi, and thus opened to himself the Spanish 
Netherlands. It is said that Villeroi made the most disadvantageous disposition 
of his troops, and that all his officers foresaw the consequences and endeavoured 
to change his resolution. But he was inflexible, " mad for glory." The French 
lost 20,000 in killed and prisoners, 120 stands of colours, and 50 pieces of 
cannon ; the confederates less than 4000 in killed and wounded. A French 
army was also routed before Turin by Prince Eugene. The Duke of Orleans 
and Marshal Marsin were the leaders who were defeated in this battle. Their 
60,000 troops were put to flight, and their military chest, with one hundred 
and forty pieces of cannon, fell into the hands of the enemy. The Milanese, 
Mantua, and the Kingdom of Naples were by this ill-fortune lost to Philip V. 
Eugene marched upon France, while Lord Galloway took possession of 
Madrid, and there proclaimed the archduke. 

The Emperor Leopold had died in the preceding year, and his son and 
successor, Joseph I., prosecuted the war witJi vigour. He put the Electors of 




BATTLE OF MALPLAQUET. 173 

Bavaria and Cologne under the ban of the empire, and deprived them of their 
electorates. Every ally was lost to France, and all her frontiers were exposed 
to the victorious enemy. Villars, again at the head of her forces, now revived 
the hopes of the French by some slight successes in Germany ; Marshal Ber- 
wick, the natural son of James II., gained the celebrated victory of Almanza, 
1707 ; and Marshal de Tesse obliged the Duke of Savoy and Prince Eugene 
to raise the siege of Toulon. 

The face of affairs in Spain began to experience a change. The Spaniards, 
when they saw the English at Madrid, rose to defend King Philip. '< Charles, 
by the grace of heretics," as they called him, was an abomination to them. 
They therefore supported the French army of auxiliaries with such zeal that 
Philip was soon able to enter his capital, and his cause triumphed in all Spain, 
except in Catalonia. Tlie victories of the Count Stahrembcrg at Almenara and 
Saragossa, 1710, produced a change of a short duration, in consequence of which 
the archduke entered Madrid. But Vendome terminated quickly this success ; 
he defeated and took at Brihuega the English corps under Stanhope, defeated 
Stahreraberg in the great battle of Villaviciosa, December 9th and 10th, 1710, 
and drove Charles back to Catalonia. Henceforth the war on the peninsula 
was but a secondary affair. 

In 1708, Louis made another effort in favour of the Pretender ; the cheva- 
lier Forbin commanded the expedition, but met with no success. By the de- 
feat at Oudenarde and the loss of Lille, the French army was so dispirited that 
it suffered itself to be dispossessed of Ghent, Bruges, and all its posts in Flan- 
ders in succession. The people of France were by this time reduced to a state 
of utter destitution. The king's favourite and adviser, Madame de Maintenon, 
lived on oaten bread, the king and his nobles had sent their plate to the mint, 
and many of the people in the provinces were dying of hunger. The finances 
were totally exhausted ; credit was at an end, insurrections broke out, the 
taxes were unpaid, and smuggling was carried on in arms by the very troops 
themselves. Louis saw the absolute necessity of terminating the war, and 
sent the Marquis de Torci and the president Rouille to solicit peace from the 
Dutch, whom formerly he had so humiliated. They were now disposed to 
retaliate, and Marlborough and Eugene each felt that his power depended upon 
the continuance of the war. They therefore made the terms of peace so humi- 
liating that they knew that Louis would not accede to them, and insisted upon 
his taking an active part with them in the expulsion of his grandson from Spain. 
When these terms were communicated to Louis he replied, '< If I must make 
war, I had rather do so against my enemies than against my own children." 
He caused the exorbitant pretensions of the enemy to be published throughout 
the kingdom. Indignation aroused patriotism, and the efforts of France were 
redoubled. Villars and Marshal Bouffleurs were sent against the enemy, and 
though Marlborough defeated them in the bloody battle of Malplaquet in Flan- 
ders, yet he lost twenty thousand of his own men, while Villars escaped with 
the loss of but eight thousand. (A. D. 1710.) 

Louis again attempted to negotiate, with no better success than before. 

p 2 



174 TIMES OF LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH. 

But the face of affairs was soon changed. The victory of Vendome at Villavi- 
ciosa destroyed the army of the archduke in Spain, and a revolution in the 
English cabinet, by bringing the political enemies of Marlborough into power, 
destroyed the war influence in the court of Queen Anne. 

By the death of Joseph of Germany, the archduke Charles became Empe- 
ror, and the reasons which had induced Europe to unite in order to prevent the 
too great aggrandizement of the house of Bourbon, now operated still more 
strongly against the ambitious head of that of Austria. A new arrangement 
was necessary for the preservation of the now recognised law of the balance 
of power, and England therefore made propositions to France. She demanded 
of Louis the recognition of Queen Anne and a protestant line of succession ; 
that he should abandon the Low Countries, Naples, and the Milanese to Aus- 
tria ; that he should demolish the port of Dunkirk, and take the necessary 
measures to prevent the union of the French and Spanish crowns upon one 
head. Louis accepted these propositions, and a preliminary treaty was signed 
at London, October 8, 1711. Holland was inclined to dispute on the subject, 
but it was vain. Marlborough was recalled, and the Earl of Ormond appointed 
head of the English army, with orders to remain neutral. Under the influence 
of England, a general conference was convened at Utrecht, January, 1713. 
The empire and the Dutch advanced pretensions utterly irreconcilable with 
the new situation of France. The threat which England held out of treating 
separately appeared to make but little impression upon the commissioners of 
the United Provinces. The imposing attitude of their hero, Eugene, who had 
passed the Sambre, taken Bouchain and Quesnoi, and invested Landrecies, 
gave a show of colour to their extravagant pretensions. Party differences ran 
high in France, extending through all parts of the kingdom. It was known 
that the old king, now seventy- four years of age, could not hope to survive 
much longer. The death of his only son, which had taken place a year pre- 
vious, the Duke and Duchess of Burgundy and their eldest son being carried 
off within the space of a few months, and the last of their children being then 
in a dying state, all these domestic misfortunes, added to disasters abroad and 
general misery at home, made the end of the reign of Louis XIV. appear a time 
marked for calamity, and in which men looked forward to greater humiliations 
than it had hitherto exhibited of grandeur and glory. Villars took upon him- 
self to baffle the hopes of the Dutch. Eugene continued the blockade of Lan- 
drecies, which was momentarily expected to surrender to him. He commitived 
however an error which saved France. His lines were too much extended, 
his stores at too great a distance, and the position of General Albemarle at 
Denain prevented his being speedily succoured. Those who know that a 
curate, together with a counsellor of Douay named Lefevre d'Orval, walking 
towards these parts, were the first who projected the attack on Denain and 
Marchiennes, may demonstrate from this fact by what secret and weak springs 
the greatest affairs of this world are often directed. Lefevre gave his opinion 
to the governor of the province ; he communicated it to Marshal Montesquieu, 
who commanded under Villars. The general approved of it and put it into 



PEACE OF UTRECHT. 



177 



execution. This action proved the safety of France rather than the retrocession 
of England from the allies.* 

Villars had recourse to stratagem. Pretending to assault the besieging 
army round Landrecies, he made a side march suddenly and forced the fortified 
lines, which the imperialists had designated insolently " the road to Paris," 
and advanced upon Denain. He found it defended by a palisaded ditch. 
The French officers applied for fascines to fill it up. " Eugene will not allow 
you time to obtain or use them," said Villars ; "the bodies of those who are the 
first to fall must serve for our fascines." Animated by his words and example, 
they rushed with ardour to the assault. Nothing could withstand their impe- 
tuosity ; they stormed the camp, which was commanded by the Duke of Albe- 
marle, a Dutch general. Albemarle, Nassau, Holstein, Anhalt, and all the 
officers were made prisoners, and the Count of Brogli was sent to form the 
siege of Marchiennes, while Villars threw himself before Eugene, who was 
advancing in great haste to succour Denain. Profiting by a bridge which had 
not been broken, he ordered attack after attack; but his troops were constantly 
repulsed, and he was obliged to witness the defeat of his army across the river. 
He bit his gloves with rage, and vented his indignation in curses. 

HE success of this day was com- 
"^i, plete ; the line of operation of 
the allies was broken ; Marchi- 
ennes, the centre of their re- 
sources, surrendered after a three 
days' siege, and the conquerors 
found there an immense supply 
of munitions of war. Villars 
successfully recaptured Douay, 
Quesnoi, and Bouchain ; in three 
months the allies lost fifty-three 
battalions killed or taken, two 
hundred cannon, and enormous quantities of arms and ammunition. The vic- 
tory of Denain, gained July 24, 1713, saved France and the monarchy, opened 
for her an honourable way to the congress of Utrecht, and settled the crown as 
firmly on the head of Louis as did the triumph of Villaviciosa that of Spain 
upon the head of his grandson. 

These great successes hastened the conclusion of peace, which was 
signed in 1713 at Utrecht. Its leading articles were the renunciation by 
Philip V. of the succession to the crown of France, the abandonment of 
Sicily to the Duke of Savoy with the title of king, and of Spanish Flan- 
ders to the Emperor, and the cession of Newfoundland, Acadia, and Hud- 
son's Bay to England, w^hich retained likewise Gibraltar and the island of 
Minorca. Louis guarantied the succession to the English throne in the Protest- 
ant line, and agreed to demolish the fortifications of Dunkirk, which had cost 
him immense sums. He gave up a portion of his former conquests in the 

* Voltaire. 
Vol. IIL 23 




178 TIMES OF LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH. 

Netherlands, and regained Lille, Aire, Bethune, and St. Vincent. The Elector 
of Brandenburg was acknowledged King of Prussia, and obtained Upper 
Guelders, Neufchatel, and some other territories. The Emperor, Charles VI., 
refused at first to be a party to this peace, but gave up the contest when Villars 
passed the Rhine and seized Landau and Friburg. Eugene received imme- 
diate orders to negotiate, and Villars, as the representative of Louis, concluded 
a peace with him at Rastadt. 

This, says Voltaire, was perhaps the first instance of two generals meeting 
at the end of a campaign to treat in the name of their masters. Their conduct 
at meeting was characteristic. Villars records that one of his first expressions 
to Eugene was : " Sir, we are not enemies to each other ; your enemies are at 
Vienna, and mine at Versailles." Both indeed had always to struggle against 
faction at their own courts. 

In this treaty no mention was made of the claim which the Emperor pre- 
tended upon Spain. Louis kept Strasburg and Landau, which he had before 
proposed to resign, and Huninguen and New Brisach, which he had offered to 
demolish. The Emperor obtained the Netherlands, the Milanese, and the 
kingdom of Naples, dismembered from the Spanish monarchy. Alsace, for- 
merly proposed to be renounced, was now retained by Louis, and let it be 
added to his honour that he now insisted upon and succeeded in effecting the 
restoration of the Electors of Bavaria and Cologne to all their dominions and 
honours. 

This was the last war in which the great Vauban was engaged ; he died 
during its continuance. He appeared to Louis XIV. as the most worthy to 
form his grandson, the Duke of Burgundy, in the school of war, and that prince 
was therefore put under his tuition. During more than fifty years that Vauban 
served France, he was characterized by calm valour, profound experience, and 
an enlightened humanity, which even in the heat of battle could reconcile his 
duty wdth the better feelings of his heart. He entered the army at the age of 
eighteen, and immediately commenced a series of special and laborious 
researches which gave to France her most skilful engineer. Many wondered 
at his learning ; and their amazement was changed to admiration when he 
showed that his courage and his science were equally allied. Mazarin heard 
of him, procured an interview, and ever afterwards encouraged the efforts of 
the genius which was to shed so much lustre around the throne of Louis the 
Great. Meanwhile, Vauban laboured without relaxation ; obtaining one result 
but to pursue a greater, seeking constantly the progress of his difficult art, and, 
endeavouring in his designs as well to guaranty the lives of his men as the 
duration of conquests, he created the science of fortification, established it upon 
new principles, and subjected it to rules which are still the foundation of this 
branch of military science. In the course of a few years he garnished all the 
frontier with fortresses, combined a general plan of defence for the kingdom, 
and assured its strength by the disposition of the forts which he raised, opened 
new ports on the ocean and the Mediterranean, and conducted in person the 
greater part of the numerous sieges which signalized the campaigns of this 



MARSHAL VAU BAN. 181 

epoch. By direction of Louis he constructed thirty-three new forts and added 
new works to three hundred others. He first drew from the soil itself and the 
water that cheap and simple defence of ditches ; and by his happy facility in 
adapting his plans to the nature of the ground and of the country, to the 
communications by land and sea, and to the offensive and defensive operations 
of armies, he acquired the great glory of having given new frontiers to France. 
He received many flattering testimonials of the estimation in which he was 
held by the king and his ministers. One of the most precious of these, perhaps, 
was the letter of Louvois to the Marshal Humieres, directing him to watch 
particularly over the safety of Vauban, "for you know," says he, "how dis- 
pleased the king would be if any accident happened to him." It was well 
known that Vauban exposed himself needlessly to danger, and was as little 
careful for his personal safety as he was anxious for the safety of his men. At 
Philipsburg, in 1689, by the most astonishing exertions he succeeded in cap- 
turing the city which he himself had formerly fortified. At the siege of Frank- 
enthal, the dauphin who still accompanied Vauban begged him to choose four 
cannons among those they had just conquered, and he then caused the arms of 
Vauban to be quartered with those of France upon them. 

Vauban had just been raised to the rank of Marshal when he was chosen 
to command with the dauphin's son, the Duke of Burgundy. He found him- 
self before Brisach, 1703, in the same situation as at Philipsburg; he was to 
capture a fortress of his own construction. As, accompanied by his pupil, the 
duke, he viewed the external defences, the prince said to him, '<Sir Marshal, 
you are about to lose your honour before this city : if you take it, they will 
say you have not fortified it well ; if we are defeated, that you did not second 
me well." " My lord," said the veteran, " they know how I fortified Brisach, 
but they do not know, what they are soon to learn, how you capture places 
which I have fortified." Such was the skill of this engineer, that he found 
resources in the presence of the very obstacles he himself had raised by his 
science ; so that by the end of thirteen days of continued attacks, he penetrated 
into Brisach, triumphing over himself. The siege of Brisach was the last at 
which Vauban commanded. After rendering so many services to France, 
Vauban in his latter days suffered disgrace and ingratitude from the king ; he 
died in 1707, forgotten by Louis XIV. But the world renders to his memory 
the homage which belongs to it. More than a century after his death, the 
ministers of war and marine, accompanied by the chief marshals of France and 
the grandsons of Vauban, repaired to the church of the Invalides, to place the 
heart of this great citizen before the tomb of Turenne. 

Louis XIV. seemed only to wait for the general pacification of Europe to 
die. He had been preceded to the grave by all the eminent men, his contem- 
poraries, and was in a manner doomed, before descending to the tomb himself, 
to wear mourning for his century. The letters of Madame de Maintenon, 
whom Louis had privately married, and to whose influence at the council table 
French historians love to impute the disasters which befell Louis, show that the 
latter years of his career, once brilliant and joyous, were tarnished and sad. 

Q 



182 TIMES OF LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH. 

The meddling persecutions of his confessor, Le Tellier, and the lettres de cachet, 
multiplied to prevent the progress of Jansenism, added to the calamitous events 
of a reign saddened by reverses and defeats. The pressure of absolute power, 
modified as it had been by a taste for the fine arts, ennobled by triumphs, or 
excited by religious intolerance, had not been severely felt in the bright days 
of the seventeenth century by the Molieres, the Racines, the Fleurys, and the 
Bossuets, but became less bearable at a subsequent date, while the talent which 
marked this period became more rare and less vigorous than formerly. The 
nobility still bowed submissively before Louis with an air of loyal attachment ; 
but already their eyes turned to the quarter where the regal power would 
descend. The people regarded a change of sovereigns with indifference, and 
Louis, like every dying despot, felt himself a pitiable object. While he sig- 
nalized his intolerant zeal for religion, he made all moral considerations, all the 
laws of the kingdom, subservient to his personal will, whenever the interests 
of his offspring were concerned. He had married several of his natural chil- 
dren to the descendants of his house ; he had declared legitimate and given 
precedence of the first nobles to his children by Madame de Montespan, the 
offspring of a double adultery, the Duke du Maine and the Count de Toulouse; 
and in 1714 he went still further, and declared them and their descendants 
heirs to the crown in default of legitimate princes. His great-grandson, who 
was to succeed him, was only five years of age, and the regency Avas about to 
fall into the hands of his nephew, Philip of Orleans. To limit the power of the 
regent, Madame de Maintenon extracted from the king a will which effected 
her purpose by establishing a council of which the Duke du Maine and the 
Count de Toulouse were named members. 

hopes were now entertained of the king's 
recovery ; a gangrene in his leg announced total 
decay. Having done all that a despot could to 
^ extend his influence beyond the period of life, he 
' prepared to meet the king cf terrors by an edify- 
-^ ing display of firmness and piety. His death-bed, 
says a modern commentator, w^as "as fine a piece 
of acting as any seen in his life ; if any thing 
could have gone deeper than the external surface 
of form and etiquette, assuredly it would have 
been the last agony. But Louis died as he had 
lived, with all the grace and decorum he loved in his brightest moments. His 
several addresses to his different friends and attendants, and lastly his heir, 
were distinguished by that neatness and propriety for which he was famous." 
He became extremely ill on the 25th of August, 1715, having been removed 
to Marly ; and it was now obvious to every one that his time was very short. 
The courtiers thronged in crowds to the palace of the Duke of Orleans. On a 
slight improvement in the king's health, they, expecting him to recover, turned 
to him ; but the favourable symptoms proving of very short duration, he found 
himself again deserted. Even Madame de Maintenon withdrew to St. Cyr, 




CHARACTER OF LOUIS XIV. 183 

unable, it was said, to endure the spectacle of his suffering. The Earl of Stair, 
then in Paris as the ambassador from England, laid a wager, <« according to 
the manner of his country," that the king would not live through the month of 
September ; and he won his bet. 

A day or two before he breathed his last, Louis caused the child who was 
to wear his crown to be brought to his bedside ; and, like some of his prede- 
cessors, gave advice in death which he had never valued in the active part of 
his life. "I," said he, "have been too much enamoured of war. Do not 
imitate me in that any more than in causing an unnecessary expenditure of 
treasure to raise gorgeous palaces. In all things take good counsel. Be it 
your study to render your people as happy as possible ; and labour to effect 
that improvement in their condition which I unfortunately have not been able to 
accomplish." The child then withdrew, and the king thenceforward wholly 
occupied himself with devotional exercises. He died on the 7th of September, 
1715, being seventy-seven years of age. Madame de Maintenon had been 
shut up at St. Cyr during the preceding three days. She did not again leave 
that retreat. The recent disasters of France had caused fifty years of victory 
to be forgotten ; and no recollections were cherished but those of the good 
times of Anne of Austria and of Mazarin ; no hopes were entertained but those 
inspired by the new regency.* 

The following brief but able summary of the reign of Louis XIV. is taken 
from the history of De Bonnechose, and we cannot better close this chapter than 
by quoting it entire. "Far more ambitious of inspiring fear and compelling 
admiration, than sensible to the affection of his subjects and anxious for their 
happiness, Louis XIV. had, in most of his enterprises, his own personal great- 
ness chiefly in view ; and a small portion only of the edifice which he had 
reared survived himself. During the latter half of his reign, he saw France 
descend from the elevation to which he had raised her in the first ; and most 
of his acts prepared, for the future, results directly the reverse of those which 
his persevering efforts had laboured to produce. Thus, whilst intending to 
strengthen the Catholic religion in the state, he overthrew it by means of the 
violence which he committed in its name, and the favours which he too fre- 
quently lavished on fanaticism and hypocrisy. It was his design, by incorpo- 
rating the provincial nobles and gentlemen in the newly disciplined regiments 
and in select companies, as well as by the institution of the order of Saint 
Louis, to make of the nobility of the kingdom the firmest rampart of the 
monarchy ; but the brilliant servitude which he imposed on the grand seigneurs, 
and the ridiculous sale of offices, each of which conferred the privilege of 
nobility, brought the order into contempt. A declared foe to the authority of 
parliaments, he kept them silent during the whole period of his reign, and yet 
he himself, by the act of confiding his will to that of Paris, opened the door by 
which they once more entered into the political arena. He fancied that, by 
transferring the Spanish etiquette to his court, he was fortifying the royal autho- 

* Pictorial France. 



184 TIMES OF LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH. 

rity, and aggrandizing it in the eyes of the multitude ; whereas he, on the con- 
trary, only weakened it, by completing its isolation. Finally, full of contempt 
for the commons of the realm, he was yet a powerful contributor to the political 
emancipation and high destinies of that order, by the encouragement which he 
afforded to letters and to trade. By such means he shifted, in a great degree, 
the sources of the public wealth and strength, by promoting the creation of 
personal property, and strengthening the springs of public opinion, in the joint 
power of which double agencies the tiers etat rose so rapidly to the level of 
the privileged orders, — and which have in our day so powerful an influence 
over the destinies of nations. 

Amongst all the labours of Louis XIV., those whose fruits did not disap- 
point his expectations, and which survived himself the longest and most bene- 
ficially for France, date almost wholly from the second and glorious period of 
his reign, — that in which Colbert lived and governed. They consist of his 
early conquests, his vigorous central administration, his useful legislation, 
though tainted in some respects with barbarism, the novel organization of his 
army, his academical foundations, his fortifications, his canals and his maritime 
constructions. They are wrong who ascribe to Louis XIV. merit for the direc- 
tion given to the national mind by his court. The latter no doubt gave some 
impulse to the progress of civilization by polishing the language and manners ; 
but it was much more distinguished by the elegance of its external forms than 
the delicacy of its sentiments. Of this the writings of La Bruyere, La Roche- 
foucauld, Saint-Simon, and the comic poets of that period, may be taken as 
proof. Towards the close of this reign, the courtiers were chiefly characterized 
by their contempt for the conjugal tie, — a thirst for gold, at a time when nearly 
all distinctions were to be bought, — an indifference as to the sources, however 
shameful, from whence fortune might be derived, — a passioh for gaming, 
carried often without entailing disgrace to the extent of dishonest manceuvring, 
— an indulgence for the vices, and even crimes, of certain persons sought 
after for their high birth or distinguished wit, — and, lastly, hypocrisy in the 
matter of religion. These deplorable examples, only the more dangerous 
for the brilliant varnish by which they were set off, exercised a most 
mischievous influence over the nation, and explained the indignation of the 
virtuous Fenelon, when he sorrowfully exclaimed : '< The manners of our day 
expose all men to the strong temptation of attaching themselves to the power- 
ful, by every species of profligacy, treachery, and baseness." 

Those times, however, were brightened, likewise, by the lustre of many 
virtues — particularly in those quarters to which the influence of the court had 
penetrated least. The provincial nobility, the magistracy, and a portion of the 
clergy, set an example of purity in manners, contempt for money, and strict 
integrity, but it was in vain that a multitude of respectable men resisted the 
torrent : the succeeding reign aggravated the wounds opened under that of 
Louis XIV.; and the corruption of the court contributed, quite as much as the 
derangement of the finances, to shake tlie monarchy to its very foundations. 




CHARLES 



CHAPTER VIII. 



■teat ^ifitafn, from t^s Seatfj of ©romto^II ti t^? Mtho' 




LIVER CROMWELL was succeeded in his dignity as 
Protector by his son Richard, a quiet, easy tempered 
man, who would have immediately declined a contest 
for the supremacy. But the fleet and the army acknow- 
ledged his title, the council recognised his authority, 
Ireland was secured to him by the popularity of his bro- 
ther Henry, who governed there, and Scotland by the 
presence of General Monk. He received congratulatory addresses from the 
counties, and the most considerable corporations, and foreign ministers were 
forward in paying him the usual compliments. He was thus tempted to accept 
of a sovereignty which seemed tendered to him by universal consent. These 
circumstances alone disprove the statements of many contemporary and later 
writers, that the powers and the policy of Oliver Cromwell were exhausted 
with his life ; that the government of the commonwealth must have speedily 
fallen to pieces even under the direction of his potent hand. Richard, how- 
ever, was thoughtless and inexperienced, and he had soon to contend against a 
powerful republican majority in parliament, which had taken the opportunity to 
reassemble. Still greater dangers soon menaced him from the discontent of 
the army, which was equally dissatisfied with the weakness of the new protec- 
tor and the obstinacy of the parliament. Richard derided the fanatical preten- 
sions of his father's officers, and when a remonstrance against granting 
commissions to " the ungodly" was brought to him, he replied, "Here is Dick 
Ingoldsby, who can neither preach nor pray, and yet I will trust him before ye 
all." These imprudent and irreligious words, says pious Ludlow, so clearly 
discovering the frame and temper of the Lord-Protector's mind,w"ere published 
in the army and the city of London, to his great prejudice. 

The officers urged Richard to dissolve the refractory Commons, and, when 
Vol. m. 24 q2 (^^5) 



186 



FROM CROMWELL TO THE REVOLUTION. 



he had taken this imprudent step, seized the reins of government into their 
own hands. Having deliberated upon several projects, they resolved to 
revive the Rump, in hopes that, having already felt their own weakness, the 
members of that body would henceforth act in accordance with the will of the 
military leaders. Richard, desirous of peace, and weary of constant conten- 
tions, resigned the protectorate, and the chief power of the state passed to the 
cabal of officers, at whose head were Lambert, Fleetwood, and Desborough. 
His more able brother Henry also quietly resigned the government of Ireland. 
After the restoration of Charles II., Richard thought proper to travel for some 
years, and had frequently to hear himself condemned as a blockhead for not 
having reaped greater benefit from his father's powers. But being of a gentle, 
humane, and generous disposition, he wisely preferred the peace of virtue to 
the glare of guilty grandeur. When some of his partisans offered to put an 
end to the intrigues of the officers by the death of Lambert, he rejected the 
proposal with horror. "I will never," said he, '< purchase power or dominion 
by such sanguinary measures." He returned after his travels to England, 
where he lived in contentment and tranquillity to an extreme old age, and died 
toward the latter part of Queen Anne's reign. As he had done hurt to no man, 
so no man attempted to hurt him ; a striking instance of the instability of human 
greatness, and of the security of innocence.* 

After the abdication of Richard, the contests 
between the army and parliament continued ; but 
the nation generally took no interest in them. It 
was a time of anarchy. Principle had departed 
from the leaders of the factions, and caprice and 
interest occupied its place. In this state of affairs, 
George Monk, who, under the Cromwell ascend- 
ency, had governed Scotland with credit, resolved 
to act a decided part. He proclaimed himself the 
champion of the parliament, but kept his real 
views wholly confined to his own breast. The 
soldiers had violently dissolved the Rump, but 
Fleetwood now found it necessary to allow it to 
reassemble. The house, though so often mutilated, 
still retained its former spirit ; it promptly made 
use of its recovered power to remove the officers 
whom it did not approve. Desborough with some 
others fled to Lambert. Fleetwood was over- 
whelmed with consternation.! Monk commenced 
his march to London on the 1st of January, 1660; 
in February he introduced the old members into the Rump, and thereby pro- 
cured a voluntary dissolution of that body; in March the Long Parliament con- 
cluded its sitting ; in April a new House of Commons assembled ; and in May, 




iOLDlER OF THE TRAINED 
BANDS OP THE 17 TH CEN- 
TURY. 



* Bishop Buinet. 



t Taylc 



THE RESTORATION OF THE STUARTS. 



187 







RESTORATION OF CHARLES II. 



Charles returned in triumph to the throne and the kingdom, from which he had 
so long been an exile. He was restored without conditions, because it would 
have been impossible to frame terms, the discussion of which would not have 
excited the recollection of former grievances and animosities. He entered 
London on the 29th of May, the day on which he completed his thirtieth 
year. He was accompanied by the members of parliament, the clergy, the 
civic authorities, and about twenty thousand persons on foot or horseback. 

Few monarchs ever had such an opportunity of rendering themselves popular 
and their subjects happy as was now afforded to Charles II. ; the pages of history, 
however, contain the name of no one who failed more completely. "There 
have come over with him vices of every sort, and the basest and most shameful 
lust without love, servitude without loyalty, foulness of speech, dishonesty of 
dealing, grinning contempt of all things good and generous. The throne is 
surrounded by men whom the former Charles would have spurned from his 
footstool. The altar is served by slaves whose knees are supple to every being 
but God. Rhymers whose books the hangman should burn, panders, actors, 
and buffoons, these drink a health and throw a main with the king ; these have 
stars in their breasts and gold sticks in their hands ; these shut out from his 
presence the best and bravest of those who bled for his house. Even so doth 
God visit those who know not how to value freedom."* 

Though it was supposed that a general amnesty would be granted at the 
restoration, the movements of the king showed that his former opponents had 



* Macaulay's " Cowley and Milton. 



188 FROM CROMWELL TO THE REVOLUTION. 

little to hope from his mercy. He organized a court, in which some of the 
most prominent seats were occupied by those who as parliamentary leaders 
had been most active in bringing things to a crisis, but who had had no imme- 
diate part in the king's death. There twenty-nine of the avowed friends of 
republicanism were brought to trial ; their defences were not allowed to be 
spoken, their judges acted as witnesses against them ; the executioner, with all 
the horrid implements of his trade, was, by a refinement of cruelty, brought 
into court and seated beside the prisoners, and, though they were satisfied in 
their own consciences that they had done no sin, though they had almost all 
acted in conformity to the orders of parliament, though the witnesses against 
them were few in number, and in many cases obviously suborned, they were 
nevertheless almost all condemned to death. The first that suffered was the 
good old republican general, Harrison ; — Harrison, whose honest soldier-like 
appearance and gallant bearing had disarmed the suspicion and even excited 
the involuntary admiration of Charles the First, when he was a captive. 

On the 13th of October, he was drawn on a hurdle from Newgate to 
Charing Cross, within sight of Whitehall. As he was borne along his counte- 
nance was placid and even cheerful. A heartless wretch called out from the 
crowd, '< Where is your good old cause now ?" Harrison with a smile put his 
hand upon his breast, saying, " Here it is. I am going to seal it with my 
blood." And several times on the way he said aloud, "I go to suffer upon 
account of the most glorious cause that ever was in the world." He ascended 
with a firm step the tall scaffold under the gibbet, and there addressed the 
crowd of his revilers and accusers. He told them, among other things, that 
though wrongfully accused of murder, he had ever kept a good conscience 
both towards God and towards man ; that he had no guilt upon his conscience, 
but comfort and consolation, and the glorious hope of peace in heaven. Then 
commenced the work of death, the detail of which we would gladly avoid, but 
that the lapse of time and the claims of history demand that the infamous cha- 
racter of Charles II., "the merry monarch," should be seen in its true light. 
The boast of the king and his courtiers, that by the restoration the highest civili- 
zation was introduced into the island, has long been accounted as true, whereas 
in fact, humanity and decency, which the mild and sober sway of Cromwell 
had fostered, now retrograded with appalling strides. The revolting indecen- 
cies, the atrocious cruelties which had been the award of treason in the dark 
as^es, and from which Cromwell and the commonwealth men had turned with 
horror and disgust, were again revived. Harrison was cut from the gallows 
alive, and saw his own bowels thrown into the fire ; then he was quartered, and 
his heart, still palpitating, was torn out and shown to the people. Charles II., 
whose vices have been made to appear like virtues, whose panegyrists have 
again and again painted him as an easy, good-natured, gentle prince, whose 
only fault was a little dissipation, witnessed at a short distance this detestable 
scene. 

On the 15th of October, John Carew suffered death in like manner, 
declaring with his last breath that the cause of liberty would not be lost. On 



GOVERNMENT OF CHARLES II. 189 

the day after, Coke and Peters were drawn to the same place. The royal 
butcher would have stricken terror to the heart of the learned Coke, and there- 
fore caused the ghastly head of Harrison, with the face uncovered and turned 
towards him, to be carried in the same hurdle, but the gallant patriot was 
animated with fiesh courage by the fearful and horrid sight. The good old 
preacher, Peters, was brought within the railing around the scaffold, and obliged 
to witness the quartering of Coke. When that deed was done, the executioner 
came to him, rubbing his bloody hands, and asked him how he liked that work. 
He answered that he was not at all terrified, and met the same fate with a quiet 
smile upon his countenance. These details might be greatly multiplied, but 
we have cited enough to show the nature of the king's generosity. We pass 
by the indignities offered to the bodies of Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw, 
who were exhumed, gibbeted, and thrown into a deep pit at Tyburn, also to 
the bodies of Cromwell's mother and daughter, who had both been models of 
female domestic virtue. The bold and determined demeanour of those who 
sufTered, and their speeches to the assembled crowds, produced their natural 
effect upon the people. " Though the regicides," says Burnet,* " were at 
that time odious beyond all expression, and the trials and executions of the 
first that suffered were run to by vast crowds, and all people seemed pleased 
with the sight, yet the odiousness of the crime came at last to be so much flat- 
tened by the frequent executions, and by most of those who suffered dying with 
so much firmness and show of piety, justifying what they had done, not without 
a seeming joy for their suffering on that account, that the king was advised not 
to proceed farther, or at least not to have the scene so near the court as Charing 
Cross." 

Blood flowed in Scotland also. The Scottish parliament emulated the 
English in submissiveness. In the last, no opposition was manifested except 
in religious matters. The pecuniary grants, however, did not equal the royal 
wishes. A second parliament was still more complaisant ; it assented to 
nearly all the demands of the king; but it too was parsimonious. This fact has 
been urged as an excuse for the king's baseness in selling Dunkirk, which the 
arms of Cromwell had so gloriously secured for England, to Louis XIV. for 
40,000 pounds, and in accepting a secret pension from that politic prince. 
The government of Charles thus received an indelible stain, while by surrender- 
ing the guidance of internal affairs to the five tyrants, Clifford, Ashley, Bucking- 
ham, Arlington, and Lauderdale, called the CABAL, from the initials of their 
names, he incurred the execrations of all patriots. His toleration in religion 
gained him no credit, for his hypocrisy was apparent in that he sought, while 
he acknowledged the episcopacy, to protect his secret favourites, the Catholics. 
The Duke of York succeeded Lauderdale in the government of Scotland, where, 
by executions without number and by all manner of murders, he set laws at 
defiance and outraged humanity. The parliament proceeded against the 
Catholics, with the direct view of preventing the accession of the Duke of York 

* Memoirs of his Own Time. 



190 FROM CROMWELL TO THE REVOLUTION. 

to the throne after the death of Charles. They wished the succession to fall to 
the natural son of the king, the Duke of Monmouth. The persecution of Pres- 
byterians in the north by the Duke of York was then retaliated by persecution 
of Catholics in England under the sanction of parliament. Finding this assem- 
bly not sufficiently well disposed towards himself, Charles dissolved it in 1678; 
but the new parliament was no less unfriendly. 

A worthless impostor, named Titus Gates, pretended to have discovered 
a plot of the Catholics for assassinating the king, burning London, massacring 
the Protestants, and placing the Duke of York on the throne. His oath was 
confirmed by that of another villain named Bedloe, and on their perjured testi- 
mony, afterwards fully exposed, a number of priests suffered death. A new 
test was imposed, which excluded all Catholics from both houses of parliament; 
the treasurer Danby was impeached for advising the last peace with France, 
though it was proved that he had acted by the king's orders ; a formal bill of 
exclusion against the Duke of York was introduced and violently defended. 
At the same time the celebrated habeas corpus act was issued, which, by pre- 
venting arbitrary arrests, gained for the people a most precious security for 
their civil liberty. But the royalists at last united closely for common defence 
against the increasing danger, the nation was divided into two irreconcilable 
parties, and the epithets whig and tory now first became known ; the former 
applied to the opposers of the crown, the latter to its partisans. The whigs, 
predominant in the next parliament, raged with fijry against the Catholics, 
and insisted on the king's assent to the bill for the exclusion of his brother. 
He had recourse to a dissolution, but found their successors equally violent. 
His attempts to conciliate their favour proving fruitless, he dissolved this 
assembly also and never convoked another. Violence and extortion took the 
place of constitutional government ; the friends of civil liberty had no legal 
means of resistance, and dread of the horrors of a civil war only kept them 
from a revolution. Some there were, however, upon whom this feeling had no 
effect, and Russel, Algernon Sidney, Howard, Shaftesbury and others con- 
cluded a secret alliance for the re-establishment of national liberty. Charles's 
son, the Duke of Monmouth, also bore a conspicuous part in it, but his object 
is generally believed to have been his own elevation. 

While their plans were ripening, a subaltern plot was laid by some inferior 
conspirators for assassinating the king on his return from Newmarket, at a 
farm called the Rye House, which gave a name to the conspiracy. Although 
the plan was not connected with that of Russel and Sidney, the detection of 
one led to that of the other, and those patriots with others were in consequence 
arrested. After some of the Rye House conspirators had been executed, 
advantage was taken of the national feeling to bring the others to execution. 
Russel was brought to trial in July, 1683, and pains being taken to pack a jury 
of partisans, he was, after very little deliberation, brought in guilty of high- 
treason. "It was proved," says Hume, "that an insurrection had been deli- 
berated on by the prisoner ; the surprisal of the guards deliberated but not 
fully resolved upon ; and that an assassination of the king had not once been 



DEATH OF SIDNEY AND RUSSEL. 191 

mentioned or imagined by him. The law was stretched to his condemnation, 
and his blood was too eagerly desired by the tyrant Charles and the bigoted 
Duke of York to allow of the remission of the sentence of death. He was 
beheaded in Lincoln's Inn Fields, July 21, 1683, in the forty-second year of 
his age. To his character for sincerity, probity, and private worth, his most 
bitter enemies have borne ample testimony. His wife obtained the respect and 
admiration of the world by the affectionate zeal with which she assisted her 
husband, and the magnanimity with which she bore her loss. She accompanied 
him into court upon his trial ; and when he was refused counsel, and allowed 
only an amanuensis, she stood forth in that character, and excited the sympathy 
and respect of all who beheld her. 

Sidney was tried for his supposed share in the conspiracy for assassinating- 
the king. After the sacrifice of Russel, he was tried as the next most obnoxious 
person, for high-treason, before the hardened Chief Justice Jeffries. Lord 
Howard, the disgrace of his country, was the only witness against him, and as 
the law for high-treason required two witnesses, recourse was had by the 
attorney-general to an expedient. In defiance of law and common sense, the 
additional testimony was held to be supplied by extracts from some discourses 
on government, found in manuscript in his closet, though not proved to be in 
his handwriting, which maintained the lawfulness of resisting tyrants, and the 
preference of a free to an arbitrary government. In spite of a spirited defence 
he was declared guilty, and executed December 7, 1678. The people wit- 
nessed the fate of their friends with deep affliction, and the Englishman ever 
links their names with epithets of love and admiration. As Sidney was dragged 
in a sledge up Tower Hill to the place of execution, one of the lookers-on 
called out to him, " You never sat on a seat so glorious." Just before his 
death he delivered the sheriff a paper, alleging tlie injustice of his condemna- 
tion, and concluding with a prayer for the " good old cause." He suffered 
with all the firmness and constancy belonging to his character, and he has ever 
been held in high honour by those who maintain the fundamental principles of 
free government. The royal authority, however, was strengthened by the 
failure of their attempt. The Duke of York was reinstated in the office of high 
admiral, from which, he had been expelled by the parliamentary vote against 
Catholics. He was tacitly acknowledged as the successor to the crown, and 
ascended the throne without opposition at the death of Charles. 

In his foreign relations, Charles always ranged himself under the banners 
of his subtle contemporary, Louis XIV. We have seen how he transferred 
Dunkirk to the French monarch, on the most disgraceful considerations ; we 
have yet to record the manner in which he brought more stains upon the flag 
of his kingdom than it had witnessed for centuries. 

In 1663, he consented to a war against Holland, the great commercial 
rival of England, in violation of all ties of gratitude. Hostilities were com- 
menced with some show of success on the part of England, but De Ruyter 
asserted the supremacy of the Dutch flag by a brilliant campaign on the coast 
of Africa. In 1666, a great naval action was fought between the combatants, 



192 FROM CROMWELL TO THE REVOLUTION. 

in which, at the end of three bloody days, Monk was obliged to retreat, and 
would have been destroyed had not a reinforcement under Prince Rupert come 
to his aid. On the fourth day the fighting was continued, but a fog separated 
the combatants, and when it cleared away the Dutch were seen retreating. 
Their enemies were unable to follow them. '< The court," says Burnet, " gave 
out that it was a victory, and public thanksgivings were ordered ; which was 
a horrid mocking of God, and a lying to the world : though we had in one 
respect reason to thank God that we had not lost our whole fleet." In July, 
how^ever, De Ruyter was defeated by Monk and Rupert, and Sir Thomas 
Holmes committed great depredations on the coast of Holland. 

The profligate prince had only waged war for plunder and prize-money, 
and as he was disappointed in these, and as his ally and master, Louis XIV., 
had other projects in view, they resolved to conclude peace. Negotiations 
were opened at Breda between the three powers, but, as hostilities were not 
suspended, De Wht resolved to revenge the wanton expedition of Holmes. 
To save the money which parliament had voted, and apply it to his pleasures, 
Charles had neglected to pay the seamen and fit out the fleet. The streets 
were full of sailors, in a starving condition, and only a few second and third 
rate ships were in commission. In the beginning of June, 1667, De Ruyter 
dashed into the Downs with a fleet of eighty sail and many fireships, blocked 
up the mouths of the Medway and the Thames, destroyed the fortifications of 
Sheerness, cut away the paltry defences of booms and chains drawn across the 
rivers, and got to Chatham on the one side and nearly to Gravesend on the 
other. The Royal Charles, one of the finest English vessels, was taken ; the 
Royal James, the Oak, and the London, all equal to the first, were burned. 
Upnor Castle and all the ships were destitute of pow^der and shot. There were 
many English sailors on board the Dutch ships, who shouted to their old com- 
panions, who lined the shores in grief and hunger, " We did heretofore fight 
for tickets ; now w^e fight for dollars." If De Ruyter had made for London at 
once he might have burned all the shipping in the river, but Prince Rupert 
improved the time while he was in the Medway to throw up batteries at Wool- 
wich, and sink vessels in the channel of the river. The Dutch then sailed 
from the Downs, scoured the coast, and returned in triumph to the Texel. In 
August the treaty of Breda was concluded, and the first Dutch war of his reign 
was ended. 

Charles commenced the second war whh Holland in a manner worthy of 
a robber and a pirate. Always the satellite of Louis XIV., he now obeyed the 
imperious commands of that king, in direct violation of the most precious 
interests of his nation. Keeping on the mask till the last moment, he offered 
himself as a mediator, and for some time imposed on both the Spaniards and 
the Dutch. When his master Louis was ready, he rushed madly into the war. 
Parliament had been prorogued, and, whhout their advice or consent, he sud- 
denly shut up the Exchequer, an act which amounted to an avowed national 
bankruptcy, and which had the immediate effect of spreading ruin far and wide, 
and of entirely uprooting credit. Then, without declaring war, and while the 



BATTLE OF S O L E B A Y. 



193 




THE DUTCH FLEET DESTROYING THE T O TV N S ON THE THAMES. 



Dutch were relying upon him as a mediator and friend, he detached Sir Robert 
Holmes to capture the homeward-bound Smyrna fleet of Dutch merchantmen, 
whose freight was supposed to be worth a million and a half sterling. Holmes, 
'< the cursed beginner of two Dutch wars," fell in with this rich fleet and 
attacked it, but the Dutch made a gallant defence, beat him off after two days' 
hard fighting, with nothing for his trouble but the disgrace of piracy. (A. D. 
1672.) The disappointed king then declared war, and Louis announced his 
intention of running down the Dutch at sea, and drowning the shopkeepers in 
their own ditches. But he found an equal adversary in the young William of 
Orange, who, with all the invincible coolness, courage, and decision of his 
ancestors, cut through the dykes, flooded the* country, and convinced even 
Turenne that the conquest of Holland was no easy matter. On the 28th of 
May, De Ruyter attacked the combined English and P""rench fleets at Solebay. 
The battle, like all in which the Dutch engaged, was terrible. Lord Sandwich, 
one of the British chiefs, was blown up and perished with his whole crew, and 
his associate, the Duke of York, narrowly escaped the same fate. The P^rench, 
whose navy was in its infancy, were very careful of their ships and men ; they 
appeared, indeed, to have a standing order to risk as little as possible during 
the war, but to promote all occasions for the Dutch and English navies to 
destroy each other. The fleets fought desperately from morning till night ; then 
separated, miserably shattered, leaving the victory doubtful. During the war, 
however, the great De Ruyter maintained the ascendency over the superior 
combined forces of English and French. 

After having lived a confirmed sensualist and voluptuary, Charles on his 
Vol. HL 25 R 



194 FROM CROMWELL TO THE REVOLUTION. 

death-bed received the sacrament, according to the rites of the Roman church, 
thus proving himself to have been as hypocritical as profligate. Owing to his 
example, his reign was the era of the most dissolute manners that ever pre- 
vailed in England. The stage was an open school of licentiousness, and im- 
morality infused itself everywhere into polite literature. Though Charles 
entirely neglected his queen, he left very many illegitimate children, the 
descendants of some of whom can even now readily be pointed out among the 
leading nobility of the kingdom. The king was a man of wit, and a good 
judge of certain kinds of writing, but too deficient in sensibility to feel either 
the sublime or the beautiful in composition ; and his soul was too contracted to 
allow him to exercise generosity towards even those authors whom he applauded. 
He possessed an easy good-natuie, but united with it a total indifference to any 
thing but his own pleasure ; and no man could be more destitute of honour or 
generosity. His observation on the cruelties which his minister Lauderdale 
had committed in Scotland, gives the best idea of his view of the relation of 
king and subject. " I perceive that Lauderdale has been guilty of many bad 
things against the people of Scotland ; but I cannot find that he has acted in 
any thing contrary to my interest." Yet with all his selfishness and demerits 
as a king, the personal character of Charles, w^ho, in the words of Sir William 
Temple, " had not a grain of pride or vanity in his whole composition," always 
made him popular with the multitude. The most affable man alive, he treated 
his subjects like gentlemen, without caring aught for their welfare. His pro- 
fessions were plausible, and his whole behaviour engaging ; so that he won the 
hearts while he lost the good opinion of his subjects, and often swayed their 
judgment of his wickedness by their fondness for his person. The violence of 
parliament tended to increase the number of his friends among the people, and 
the zeal against Catholicism caused most of his own tyrannous measures to be 
ascribed to the influence of his brother, the Duke of York. 

That brother now ascended the throne, with the thle of James IL He 
had been held accountable for his brother's Vices, and though his accession to 
the supreme power was not opposed, much discontent was felt throughout the 
nation. As might have been expected, his reign was short and inglorious. 
He was so weak as to make the desperate attempt to force Catholicism upon 
the nation, when the Catholics were but a hundredth part of the inhabitants. 
He discarded the nobility from the councils, and substituted Romish priests ; 
and expressed a firm determination to exercise an unlimited despotism. His 
illegitimate nephew, the Duke of Monmouth, having excited a new rebellion, 
was defeated, captured, and executed ; the valiant Argyle, w^ho had supported 
his attempt in Scotland, shared the same fate, and the king, striving to 
strengthen his throne by terror, practised by his instruments. Chief Justice 
Jeffries and Colonel Kirke, the most bloody persecution against the unfortunate 
adherents of Monmouth or those who were declared such. 

James had two children, both daughters ; Mary, married to Prince William 
of Orange, and Anne, the wife of Prince George of Denmark. The nation had 
borne with the tyranny of James, looking toward his death as a time of deli- 



ACCESSION OF WILLIAM AND MARY. 



195 








EXECDTtON OV AUGYLE Al U'UE MABKE'i' CKOSS, EDINBURGH. 



verance. Their eyes were fixed upon the great general, statesman, and ruler, 
William of Orange, who had also looked upon his right to the crown of Eng- 
land as certain. But the birth of another child to James disconcerted the hopes 
and views of both these parties. The infant prince must succeed to the throne 
to the exclusion of William, and the nation felt tliat he was an heir to the prin- 
ciples as well as to the power of James. The people therefore boldly under- 
took their own salvation. William had showed himself a friend of the popular 
cause by intercession and negotiation, and he now received invitations to 
become a mediator and a saviour from all parties, Whigs and Tories, Episco- 
palians and Presbyterians. James, however, feared nothing. He even refused 
the offers of assistance from Louis XIV. His throne, established on the pillars 
of absolute power, seemed in no danger of being shaken. But it fell. 

On the 5th of November, 1688, William of Orange landed with a mode- 
rate force on the coast of England ; his debarkation having been preceded by 
a manifesto, enumerating the arbitrary acts of the king against the rights 
of the nation. On account of these, he had come to England to convoke a 
legitimate, free parliament, wdiich would consult the w^elfare of the state. 
The standard of William was immediately joined by tlie principal nobility 
and officers ; James, abandoned by all, fled to France. The throne was 
declared vacant, and it w^as resolved in a convention parliament to confer the 
crown upon the Prince and Princess of Orange, the former to have the sole 



196 



FROM CROMWELL TO THE REVOLUTION. 



administration of government. At the same time the " declaration of the 
rights of the English nation" was united to this hereditary transfer. Its most 
important articles are as follows : The king cannot suspend the laws or their 
execution ; he cannot levy money without consent of parliament ; the subjects 
have right to petition the crown ; a standing army cannot be kept up in time 
of peace but by consent of parliament ; elections and parliamentary debate 
must be free, and parliaments must be frequently assembled. Thus the liberties 
of tlie subject, which had cost two revolutions and an immense amount of blood 
and treasure, were at length finally acknowledged and definitely fixed. 

The constitutional rights of the people being thus definitively settled, the 
principles for which Hampden, Pym, and Vane had contended were substan- 
tially recognised in what the English call the Glorious Revolution of 1688 : 
and the ancient coronation chair, containing the stone on which the kings of 
Scotland were crowned at Scone, and which had been brought to London by 
Edward I. and used in subsequent crownings, was brought forth for the 
inauguration of a monarch who owned neither England nor Scotland for his 
native country. 





CHAPTER IX. 

' c ai 1 ?® r i it a i E » it@m t^e <E e b i I ^^ H o m of 3. '3 S © t u 1 5 c ^ ? a t fj ni 



IFFICULTIES in Ireland formed the first 
object of attention presented to the new king 
of England. The Scotch were easily in- 
I jduced to yield obedience to the two sove- 
] 'reigns, William and Mary ; but a formidable 
resistance was offered to their sway in Ire- 
land. There the people were warmly attached 
to the late sovereign on account of his reli- 
gion, and they regarded hun as a martyr to 
his faitli, and looked upon his cause as their 
own. In 1689, James proceeded from 
France to Ireland, and was soon joined by 
a large but ill-disciplined army. He imme- 
diately ratified an act of the Irish parliament for annulling that settlement of 
the Protestants upon the lands of Catholics, which had taken place in Cromwell's 
time, and another for attainting two thousand persons of the Protestant faith. 
The Protestants, finding themselves thus dispossessed of their property, fled to 

R 2 (197. 




198 



WILLIAM AND MARY. 



the fortified towns, and resolved to defend themselves until succours should 
arrive from King William. 

That prince led a large army to Ireland, and on the 1st of July, 1689, 
gained, over his father-in-law, the victory of the Boyne. James foolishly suffered 
himself to be dispirited by this defeat, and sailed for France, while his Irish 
adherents continued in arms, and fought more vigorously after the battle of the 
Boyne than before it. The Duke of Berwick and the Earl of Tyrconnel kept 
the field with a large body of cavalry, and the infantry were effectually pro- 
tected in the town of Limerick. William invested this town, and lost two 
thousand men in an assault upon it; this so disheartened him that he went back 
to England, leaving his officers to prosecute the war. The Irish army being 
defeated at Aghrim, in consequence of the loss of their leader, St. Ruth, they 
took refuge in Limerick, where a treaty was concluded, and the war ended. 

All military opposition was thus overcome, but William had to encounter 
no little resistance in parliament from the Tories, now called Jacobites. 
Though they had been glad to save the Church of England by calling in Wil- 
liam, they submitted with a bad grace to making him king ; and the danger 
was no sooner passed than they revived their former principles of hereditary 
right, thus keeping alive James's hopes of a restoration, and imbittering the 
peace of William's mind. But the king found a recompense in the additional 
force which his elevated position enabled him to bring against his former enemy, 
Louis of France. He entered heartily into the combination of the European 
powers for checking that warlike prince, and, tired of continual struggles, he 
admitted every restraint which the parliament placed upon his authority, upon 
condition of being properly supplied with the means of humbling the power of 
France. He conducted military operations nearly every summer in person. 
War and the balance of power were all that engaged his attention, and the 
sums of money granted to him for the prosecution of his passion for deeds of 

arms are incredible. The peace 
of Ryswick, 1697, permitted 
him to spend the remainder of 
his reign in quiet. His wife 
Mary had died in 1694, leaving 
hun sole ruler, and in 1700, in 
consideration that he and his 
sister-in-law Anne had no chil- 
dien, the act of succession was 
passed, by which the crown, 
failing in these two individuals, 
was secured to the next Pro- 
testant heir, Sophia, duchess 
of Hanover, granddaughter of 
James I. William had deter- 
mined to take part against Louis 
in the war of the Spanish suc- 




COSTUME OF QUEEN 



QUEEN ANNE. 



199 




WILLIAM III. 



cession, when a fall from his horse fractured his collar-bone, and he died in 
consequence, March 2, 1702. The person of William III. was thin and feeble; 
his demeanour cold, silent, and repulsive. He was a man of sober domestic 

habits, and sincerely attached to toleration in 
religion. His reign is remarkable for the first 
legal support of a standing army ; for the com- 
mencement of the national debt ; and for the 
establishment of the Bank of England, by Wil- 
liam Peterson, a scheming Scotsman. (A. D. 
1695.) John Locke, Bishop Tillotson, and 
John Dryden, three of the greatest men of any 
age or any country, adorned the period of his 
reign. 

Anne, second daughter of James II., and 
sister-in-law to the late king, succeeded to the 
throne. She was now thirty-eight years of age, 
and chiefly remarkable for her zealous attachment 
to the Church of England. During the war of the 
^^ ^ Spanish succession, she maintained the place 

<^ ^-Mm ^^ which William had assumed in the grand alliance, 

and though she thereby enabled her favourite, the 
Duke of Marlborough, to elevate the glory of 
England and accumulate great personal wealth, the unnecessary interference 
in continental politics cost the people immense sums of money, and laid 
the foundations of the enormous national debt from which the nation has not 
yet recovered. 

Since the Revolution the Wliigs had governed the state by their majority 
in parliament and their influence in the ministry. Their power w^as now 
rapidly declining, but before its fall they succeeded in effecting an object of the 
greatest importance to both England and Scotland. This was an incorporating 
union of the two countries, a measure rendered necessary by the manifest dis- 
position of the Scots to dissent from the Act of Succession. The Whig 
ministry exerted themselves so effectually in the Scottish parliament as to obtain 
an act, enabling the queen to nominate commissioners for the arrangement of a 
union. The men appointed, thirty on each side, were all friendly to the court 
and to the revolution settlement ; and the treaty was accordingly framed with- 
out difficulty. In October, 1706, this document was submitted to the Scottish 
parliament. It provided that the two nations were to be indissolubly united 
under one government and legislature, each, however, retaining its own civil 
and criminal law ; the crown to be in the house of Hanover ; the Scottish 
Presbyterian church to be guarantied ; forty-five members to be sent by the 
Scottish counties and burghs to the House of Commons, and sixteen elective 
peers to be sent by the nobles to the Upper House ; the taxes to be equalized, 
but, in consideration of the elevation of the Scottish imposts to the level of the 
English, for the latter people already owed sixteen millions, an equivalent was 



200 G E O R G E I. 

to be given to Scotland, amounting to nearly four hundred thousand pounds, 
which was to aid in renewing the coin and other objects. These terms were 
regarded in Scotland as inadequate, and the very idea of the loss of an inde- 
pendent legislature and a place among governments raised their utmost indig- 
nation. And though by bribery the union was carried through parliament, and 
the two countries formed one state, yet it was long unpopular, and the two 
rebellions of 1715 and 1745 were in a great degree caused by the anxiety of 
the people for the repeal of this odious measure. 

The popularity of the union in England, how^ever, could not avert the 
approaching dissolution of the Whig ministry. The Tories went on steadily 
increasing in power. They were strongly attached to the Church of England, 
the privileges and supremacy of which they wished to maintain against the 
Whigs, who, more liberal in their feelings, were willing to allow the toleration 
called for by the dissenters. The terms High Church and Low Church were 
now applied respectively to the views of the Tories and the Whigs ; the Tories 
raised the cry that the Church was in danger, and the Whigs unwisely 
attempted to silence the clamor by force. A divine, named Henry Sacheverell, 
had preached a violent sermon, attacking the dissenters, and upholding the 
long exploded doctrines of passive obedience and non-resistance. It was a 
poor, contemptible production, and, though printed and eagerly read, it would 
soon have been forgotten but for the ministry themselves. Lord Godolphin 
persuaded his friends to make it the subject of a parliamentary impeachment, 
and though the man was found guilty, common sense revolted at the iniquity 
of the proceeding, and the popular tumult was so great that a merely nominal 
punishment was inflicted. Ihis was hailed by the Tories as a triumph, 
and the Whigs became more and more unpopular as marks of public reve- 
rence and honour flowed in upon their intended victim. At the same time, 
through the intrigues of Mrs. Masham, who had supplanted the haughty 
Duchess of Marlborough in the affections of Queen Anne, they lost their 
remaining favour with that sovereign, who resolved to get rid of them at 
the first opportunity. In August, 1710, her Tory favourites, Harley and St. 
John, came into power with a decided Tory majority in parliament ; an 
event which was speedily followed by the termination at Utrecht of the war 
of the Spanish succession. It is believed that Queen Anne was favour ble 
to the restoration of the Stuart family to the English throne, and Harley 
and St. John are known to have been concerned in intrigues for that pur- 
pose ; but Queen Anne died suddenly, August 1, 1714, before any plan 
could be arranged for the promotion of that object, and George I., the 
son of the now deceased Sophia Ele^tress of Hanover, ascended the throne 
under the Act of Succession. 




CHAPTER X. 



agtetn lEuroMe &n^ t^e Nittfj). 




URING the period in which Louis XIV. engaged Ger- 
many in hostilities, the patriotic Elector of Brandenburg 
had been actively employed in taking advantage of the 
weakness and exhaustion of the empire to lay securely 
a foundation upon which his house might rise to future 
greatness. In 1674, Louis concluded an alliance with 
the Swedes, whom he induced to invade the territories 
of that electorate, in order to draw Frederic William 
tiom the service of the Emperor to the protection of his 
own people. Though they made a serious impression 
on his country, the elector would not abandon the imperial standard on the 
Rhine, but contributed his assistance as long as his presence there was neces- 
sary. In 1675, he marched hastily to the relief of his suffering country, 
appeared suddenly in front of the triumphant Swedes, and, though his infantry 
had not been able to keep up with him, determined to attack the enemy at 
once. His generals advised him to await the arrival of his foot soldiers, but 
he thought that every moment of delay was a moment lost, began the action at 
once, and gained a most brilliant victory. The Swedes fled to Pomerania, 
followed by the elector, who conquered part of that province. 

Frederic William may be regarded as the founder of the Prussian 
monarchy ; inasmuch as he laid a secure basis upon which his successors built. 
He acquired the Westphalian territories from the Clive inheritance, made the 
duchy of Prussia independent, and at the treaty of Welau in 1675, caused it to 
be declared free of all enfeoffinent to Poland. He enlarged its capital, Berlin, 
by the Werder and Neustadt ; he promoted the progress of the universities in 
Frankfort and Konigsburg, and formed a plan for a new one at Halle ; he 
encouraged all kinds of art and industrial invention throughout his lands, and 
Vol. hi. 26 (2"^ 



202 



EASTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE. 




F K B n E H 1 C W I I, I, I 



hospitably received and employed many refugee artisans from France. It was 
his aim to render his people inferior to none of all the other nations, to raise 
them in the estimation of the world, and while many princes of the empire 
secured their private interests by alliances with the enemies of Germany, he 
made it the aim of his life to oppose the aggressions of the French and protect 
the liberties of the great German nation. 

The acquisitions of territory made by Louis XIV. under the awards of the 
chambers of reunion, excited the utmost indignation of the German Emperor, 
who formed an alliance with several princes for his own protection, when a 
sudden revolt in Hungary, and an invasion of the Turks, which had been pro- 
duced by Louis for the advancement of his own purposes, made him tremble 
for the safety of his empire. 



VIENNA BESIEGED BY THE TURKS. 203 

Ever since the year 1670 Hungary had been continually agitated by dis- 
sension. The Hungarians were extremely annoyed at beholding their towns 
garrisoned by German troops, and, in addition to this, the Protestants com- 
plained loudly of the persecutions which they endured at the instigation of the 
Jesuits. Count Emmeric of Toeckly having presented himself as a leader, the 
discontented population rose in arms, and formed an alliance with the Turks. 
The warlike and ambitious grand vizier, Kara Mustapha, prepared at once for 
the invasion of Hungary at the head of an army far exceeding in strength any 
since the conquest of Constantinople. Fortunately for the Emperor Leopold, 
he found a brave and efficient ally in John Sobieski, king of Poland ; the Ger- 
man princes too came to his aid, and the command of his forces was given to 
the brave and magnanimous Prince Charles of Lorraine, the instructor of Prince 
Eugene of Savoy, the famous fellow-soldier of Marlborough. 

The Turks, however, opened the campaign at an uncommonly early period, 
crossing the bridge of Esseck wath 200,000 men on the 12th of June, 1683. 
The imperial army was hastily formed at Presburg ; but it numbered only 
22,000 foot and 11,000 horse. The Turks marched on direct to Vienna, with- 
out stqpping to besiege the towns in Hungary. The Emperor fled with his 
court to Linz, while the inhabitants, animated with the presence of a garrison of 
10,000 men, which the Duke of Lorraine threw into the city, armed in its defence. 
Count Rudiger of Stahrenberg was appointed commandant, and gave evidence of 
his determination to resist with desperation the advances of the vizier, who arrived 
before the city on the 14th of June. His army occupied a space of six leagues in 
the surrounding country. Two days after his arrival trenches were opened, 
cannon fired upon the city, and the siege commenced. The walls were under- 
mined, and the Turks made every preparation for blowing up the bastions, in order 
to gain an entrance into the city. The besieged, however, defended themselves 
heroically. The night witnessed them repairing the damages of the day, and 
desperately and determinedly they disputed every foot of ground. The Turks, 
however, were gradually gaining the advantage ; every day they gained some- 
thing ; at the Lobel bastion the contest was so fierce that the whole ground was 
covered with the blood of the combatants. At the end of August, the crescent 
waved over the moat of the city walls, and on the 4th of September the Turks 
sprung a mine, which made the city to shake as in an earthquake ; the Burg 
bastion was rent asunder for more than thirty feet, and pieces of its walls were 
scattered in all directions. At this great success, the Turks rushed to an 
assault, but on two successive occasions they were driven back. They there- 
fore sprung another mine under the same bastion, September 10, making a 
breach so extensive that they were enabled to penetrate it with a whole batta- 
lion. The garrison was exhausted by constant fighting and fatigue, their num- 
ber was considerably reduced, and the Duke of Lorraine had been repeatedly 
summoned to their aid in vain. Yet the brave Viennese had no thoughts of a 
surrender ; they stood under arms, momentarily awaiting an assault, which 
must have decided the fate of the city, when the Christian army announced by 
the thunders of its artillery on the Kalen hill that relief was at hand. 



204 EASTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE. 

The brave Sobieski had arrived at the head of his array, and he was imme- 
diately followed by the Electors of Bavaria and Saxony, Prince Waldeck with 
the troops of the circle of Franconia, the Duke of Saxe-Lauenberg, the Mar- 
graves of Baden and Baireuth, the Landgraves of Hesse, the princes of Anhalt, 
and many others, who all brought with them a numerous body of their own 
troops. With such a select body of leaders, Charles of Lorraine ventured to 
give battle, though he had but 40,000 men in all. On the morning of the 12th 
of September he descended the Kalen hill in order of battle. The village of 
Nussdorf, situated on the banks of the Danube, was first attacked, and taken 
by the imperialists and Saxons in the left wing after a bloody fight. Meanwhile, 
towards midday, John Sobieski, who had descended into the plain with the 
right wing, dashed with his cavalry into the midst of the Turkish horsemen, 
and with irresistible force penetrated through the very centre of their ranks, 
spreading confusion and dismay before him. The Turks, however, were 
enabled by their great superiority of numbers to surround him, especially as 
his ardour led him to go too far, and he must have been overcome had not the 
German cavaliers fallen upon the turbaned enemy and forced their way to the 
gallant Pole. The eflforts of the allies were redoubled, and this portion of the 
Turkish army was sent flying over the plain in every direction. The unmea- 
surable camp of the Turks, however, still covered the plain, while their artillery 
had not ceased to bombard the city. The Duke of Lorraine held a council of 
war to determine whether the battle should be renewed that evening, or whether 
the soldiers should rest until the following morning. Deliberation, however, 
was useless ; the Turks, panic-stricken, were already flying away with the 
utmost precipitation. They abandoned their camp and all their baggage and 
ammunition, and even those who were engaged in firing upon the .town relin- 
quished their occupation and followed the example of the others. The booty 
made in the camp was immense ; it was estimated at 15,000,000 dollars, the 
tent of the grand vizier alone being worth 400,000 dollars ; 2,000,000 dollars 
were found in the military chest. The accounts given of the wealth of the 
vizier's tent seem almost incredible. He had been honoured with the standard 
of Mohammed, which, with the vizier's own banner, fell to the share of John 
Sobieski. This precious treasure of Islamism was presented to the pope, 
who was thereby for ever released from the terrors of Moslem invasion. 

All Europe took an interest in the deliverance of Vienna. The King of 
France, however, who had by his commanding policy produced this Turkish 
invasion, and whose letters, containing the entire plan for the siege of Vienna, 
are said to have been found in the vizier's tent, was greatly confounded. 
When the approach of the Turks was announced, he was besieging Luxembourg, 
and though they came with his knowledge and by his desire, yet he raised the 
siege and hypocritically declared that he would never attack a Christian prince 
while Christendom was in danger from the infidels. He was confident that 
Vienna would fall and Germany be devastated, while he stood ready with a 
powerful army to prevent an entrance into France should the vizier prove 
treacherous and attempt an invasion. But his scheme was defeated, and he 



THE TURKS DEFEATED. 207 

returned to the siege of Luxembourg with his eagerness for conquest whetted 
by the overthrow of his allies. 

Meanwhile the victors conquered Hungary, with Slavonia and Servia. 
The latter, however, was afterwards lost. The Turks were beaten in many 
battles, the most decisively at Mohacz, August 12, 1687. This war was 
prosecuted with great zeal, the Hungarians being compelled to renounce their 
old right of resisting the crown, and to acknowledge the hereditary claim of the 
house of Austria to their crown. Venice was equally successful with Austria 
in humbling the power of the Porte, and the sultan Mohammed IV. atoned for 
the misfortunes of his arms by the loss of his crown. His brother Solyman had 
been a prisoner in the seraglio, and a revolt was excited among the janissaries, 
in consequence of which Solyman and Mohammed exchanged places. The 
new grand vizier, Kiuprili Mustapha, was somewhat more successful in the 
field. The brother and successor of Solyman III., Achmet II., carried on the 
war until Louis, Margrave of Baden, gained a glorious victory at Salankemen, 
August 19, 1691. 

After Achmet II., the throne was filled by Mustapha II., the valiant son 
of Mohammed IV. This prince led his armies in person, and carried on the 
war with success until Eugene of Savoy nearly annihilated the Turks at Zenta. 
September 11, 1697. 

The Russian Czar, Peter, made war vigorously in the country between the 
Dnieper and the Don, defeated the Tartars and the Turks, and captured Azof. 
This complication of disasters humbled the pride of the Porte, and it concluded 
a disadvantageous peace at Carlowitz for twenty-five years, January, 1699. 
By this treaty the Emperor obtained Transylvania, Slavonia, and the province 
of Batschka between the Danube and the Theiss; the Turks retained Temeswar, 
with the country from the Maros to the Danube. Poland recovered Camaniek, 
Podolia, and what the Turks possessed in the Ukraine, and in return evacuated 
Moldavia. Venice gained all the Morea and some places in Dalmatia. Russia 
remained in possession of Azof. Soon after this peace Mustapha was 
dethroned by his soldiers, and his brother, Achmet III., was elevated to the 
throne. (1702.) 

The Emperor Leopold was chiefly engaged from this time in the struggle 
against the ambition of Louis. The period of the war of the Spanish succession 
afforded many princes opportunities of elevating themselves without opposition 
to places which would have been violently disputed at a less stormy time. 
Thus the Prince of Orange became King of England, the Elector of Saxony 
succeeded John Sobieski on the throne of Poland, and Frederic III., the Elec- 
tor of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, who had succeeded to the power of 
Frederic William, erected his territories into a kingdom, and substituted the 
kingly for the ducal crown. Henceforth he was known as Frederic I. of Prus- 
sia. In 1701, the Hungarians again revolted and carried on the war fiercely 
against the Emperor Leopold until his death, and then against his successors, 
Joseph I. and Charles VI. A peace was finally concluded in 1711, on nearly 
the same basis as the last. The accession of Charles to the imperial throne 



208 EASTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE, 

destroyed all his hopes of securing the crown of Spain, and brought about a 
dissolution of the confederacy against France and the peace of Utrecht, and 
the subsequent treaty of Rastadt and Baden between France and the Emperor. 
The Emperor Charles reigned after the conclusion of the w^ar of the Spanish 
succession, neglecting all the splendid opportunities which the humbling of the 
French power afforded for raising Austria to be the first in rank among the 
states of Europe. The last tw^enty years of his life he spent in attending to the 
internal adiBinistration of his territories, and to a careful computation of the 
physical powers of the other countries of Europe, the amount of their produc- 
tions, and the number of their subjects and soldiers, a process in which he was 
imitated by all his contemporaries, by which the high intellectual scheme of 
the balance of power was materialized. Henceforth every sovereign sought 
for his independence in the number of his well-appointed soldiers ; raising 
his forces in proportion as his neighbour's were augmented, and sharing in 
all the commotions of the continent without profit, with little honour, and at 
great cost. As Charles had no male issue, he had drawn up a solemn law, 
called the Pragmatic Sanction, according to which he transferred to his 
daughter, Maria Theresa, the peaceful possession of his hereditary lands. 
This he was extremely anxious to have confirmed by the leading states of 
Europe, and he succeeded in his object, though not without great difficulty. 
His Sanction, however, failed to secure his daughter, who, after his death, 
found herself exposed to a host of selfish enemies, each claiming some portion 
of her territories, and endeavouring to make good his pretensions by the force 
of arms.* 

Vladislaus IV., king of Poland, was succeeded on the throne of that 
country by his brother, John Casimir. (1648.) A short time before his death, 
a revolt broke out among the Cossacks of the Ukraine, a people of Scythian 
origin, who dwelt on both sides of the Dnieper below Kiev, where they served 
Poland under a hetman or commander, as a frontier guard against the Tartars 
and the Turks. They had become by oppression the most inveterate foes of 
Poland, though once her most faithful friends. This result was etlected by the 
non-residence of the landholders, who, being chiefly Polish nobles, never visited 
the Ukraine themselves, but committed the charge of their estates to stewards 
or middlemen, who enriched themselves by a double system of plunder from 
both the landlords and the tenants. One revolt having been suppressed, the 
diet of Poland voted a decree which annulled nearly all the liberties of the 
Cossacks ; a decree to which a brave and warlike people would not submit 
without a struggle. A comparatively private instance of tyranny brought mat- 
ters to a crisis. A Cossack, named Bogdan, who dwelt on the banks of the 
Borysthenes, had saved the wife of the castellan of Cracow from being cap- 
tured by the Turks, and the castellan rewarded him with a windmill and a 
small estate adjoining. Here he lived happily until the castellan died, when 
the steward attempted to dispossess him of his property. He resisted, the 

* Kohlrausch. 



AFFAIRS OF POLAND. 211 

steward set fire to his house, and his wife and an infant son perished in the 
flames. Such an outrage was well calculated to rouse the passions of an 
already excited people. The Cossacks flew to arms, sought aid from the Porte, 
and were speedily reinforced by an array of forty thousand Tartars of the 
Crimea. Bogdan assumed the position of hetman of this army, made himself 
master of all the Ukraine, and then entered Poland, where his soldiers com- 
mitted the most horrible deeds of violence. 

Just as this war commenced, John Casimir ascended the throne of Poland. 
Supported by the sultan Mohammed IV., Bogdan assumed the title of Prince 
of the Ukraine, laid all Lithuania waste, and everywhere reduced the convents, 
the churches, and the Jesuit colleges to ashes. Unfortunately, John Casimir, 
by adopting the title of hereditary king of Sweden, to which he had a claim, 
added Charles Gustavus of Sweden to the list of his enemies, who invaded 
Pomerania. John fled to Silesia, while Charles marched unopposed to Warsaw. 
His imperious conduct, however, joined with the insolence and oppression of 
his soldiers, incensed the Poles, who fled in large numbers to join the standard 
of their fughive king. The Czar of Russia, with whom they had previously 
been at war, made a truce with them, the states of Holland, Denmark, Prussia, 
and Austria supported their cause, and the King of Sweden was induced to 
make a peace, by which John resigned his foolish pretensions to the Swedish 
crown, and other matters were placed on the same footing as before. (1660.) 
Bogdan meanwhile had died, and the Cossacks had returned to their old alle- 
giance on receiving guaranties for their civil and religious liberties. Hostilities 
with Russia, however, had been renewed, and war continued between that 
country and Poland until 1667, when they were terminated by a treaty very 
disadvantageous to the latter power. War with the Turks, too, exhausted the 
resources of the country, though these troubles afforded a field in which the 
great military genius of John Sobieski was formed. 

At length John Casimir, worn out by misfortunes, seeing the land depopu- 
lated by incessant war and pestilence, which he could not avert but with great 
sacrifices, began to sigh again for the seclusion of the prelacy whence he had 
come forth to the throne. Twenty years his life had been imbittered by the 
cares and vexations of government, and he now determined to resign the dig- 
nity. He assembled a diet, declared his resolution in an atf'ecting speech, 
bade farewell to the people and to the country, and retired into France. 
Louis XIV. received him kindly, and he lived in a style befitting his rank until 
his death, which happened four years afterwards. 

Afier the abdication of John Casimir, Michael Koributh was compelled 
reluctantly to accept the crown. He was very poor, had lived all his life in a 
monastery, and was totally unfit to govern. His whole reign, which lasted 
until 1674, was a period of faction and virtual anarchy. In addition to the 
other troubles, the Turks invaded Poland, and gained possession of the Ukraine, 
notwithstanding the prodigies of valour and military skill shown by John Sobi- 
eski. When Michael died, this great military chief was chosen king, and 
crowned at Cracow with unusual magnificence. As king, by extraordinary 



212 EASTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE. 

exertions he augmented the military force of the country, and by his prowess 
rescued two-thirds of the Ukraine from the Turks. (1676.) He drew the 
attention of all Europe upon him at the siege of Vienna in 1683, and threw a 
great splendour over the name of Poland. But it was only temporary, and 
scarcely arrested even for a moment the waning destinies of the country. 
With him the greatness of Poland may be said to have ended, and even his 
talents were confined to achievements in arms. He was a great soldier, but 
no statesman ; he could preserve his country from her foreign enemies, but his 
arm was powerless when the turbulent nobility were to be reduced to order, 
when an end was to be put to the factions which desolated her. One feature 
in the government which greatly contributed to its downfall was the power 
which every senator had of putting an end to the action of the diet upon any 
subject by his single veto. Scarcely any measure could be proposed in an 
assembly of four hundred persons which would meet the approbation of every 
one of them, and every member had the power to prevent the passage of even 
the most important laws when influenced by passion, by private interest, or 
bribery from abroad The treaty of Leopol, 1686, by which the aid of the 
Russians was secured against the Turks and Tartars, was only purchased by 
considerable cessions of territory, and the unhappy king confessed with tears in 
his eyes, at the close of a stormy session of the diet of 1688, that he was unable 
to save the country. No foreign war disturbed the country, however, and 
Sobieski reigned, regarded as a cipher in the government, until the year 1696, 
when he died. The Elector of Saxony, Augustus II., was chosen his successor, 
and wore the crown of Poland when, by the peace of Carlowitz, that country 
gained valuable territorial concessions from the Turks. 

No Russian prince was ever more beloved and respected by his subjects 
than Michael Romanoff. This prince, whose elevation to the throne ended the 
internal troubles of Russia, spent the whole of his long reign in remedying the 
calamities which those troubles had occasioned. During thirty-three years his 
mild and beneficent government gxcited a most favourable influence over the 
country, and Russia was restored to its former prosperity. The peace with 
other nations which enabled Michael Romanoff thus to devote his labours, was 
only obtained by permitting large tracts of country to fall into the possession 
of the Poles and the Swedes. 

In 1645, Alexis succeeded his father Michael on the throne, and recovered 
by war nearly all the provinces which had been lost to Russia in his father's 
reign. During his administration occurred the revolts of the Cossacks in the 
Ukraine, above mentioned, an event which afforded great satisfaction to the 
Czar, who joyfully accepted the alliance of so warlike a body of men. The 
internal peace of his dominions was disturbed by a formidable rebellion of the 
Cossacks of the Don, who waged war for a time with some success, but were 
in the end subdued. The remainder of the reign of Alexis was devoted to 
improving the condition of his subjects. He revised the laws, established 
manufactories of linen, silk, and iron, and endeavoured to open a communica- 
tion with China. At his death he was succeeded by his eldest son, Theodore 



PETER THE GREAT, 213 

who waged a war against the Ottomans. Theodore reigned but six years, and 
was followed on the throne by his two brothers,- Ivan V. and Peter I, These 
sovereigns ruled conjointly until 1689, when Ivan was set aside on account 
of incapacity, and Peter, then seventeen years of age, reigned alone. 

The first exertions of the young monarch were directed to the disciplining 
of the army and the increase of his resources. In 1694, he took Azof from the 
Turks, with the aid of a flotilla on the Don, the germ of the Russian navy. 
This acquisition laid the foundation of more extensive views. The polhic 
prince resolved to make Russia the centre of trade between Europe and Asia ; 
he projected a junction of the Dwina, the Wolga, and the Tanais, by means 
of canals, thus to open a passage from the Baltic to the Euxine and Caspian 
seas, and from these seas to the Northern Ocean. Owing to the difficulty with 
which during nine months in the year vessels reached Archangel, Peter 
resolved to build a city on the Baltic, which should become the magazine of 
the North and the capital of his extensive empire. Several princes before this 
illustrious barbarian, says an eminent historian, disgusted with the pursuits of 
ambition or tired with sustaining the load of public affairs, had renounced their 
crowns and taken refuge in the shade of indolence or of philosophical retire- 
ment ; but history affords no example of any sovereign who had divested him- 
self of the royal character in order to learn the art of governing better ; that 
was a stretch of magnanimity reserved for Peter the Great. Though almost 
destitute himself of education, he discovered, by the natural force of his genius 
and a few conversations with strangers, his own rude state and the savage 
condition of his subjects. He resolved to become worthy of the character of a 
man — to see men — and to have men to govern. Animated by the noble ambition 
of acquiring instruction, and of carrying back to his people the improvements 
of other nations, he accordingly quitted his dominions in 1697 as a private 
gentlemen, in the retinue of three ambassadors, whom he sent to ditferent 
courts of Europe. 

The first place which attracted his particular notice was Amsterdam, where 
he applied himself to the study of commerce and the mechanical arts, and in 
order more completely to acquire the art of ship-building, he entered as a car- 
penter in one of the principal dock-yards, and laboured and lived in all respects 
like his fellow-workmen. In his leisure hours he studied philosophy, fortifica- 
tion, navigation, surgery, and such other arts and sciences as he thought it 
might be necessary to introduce into his own country. From Holland he 
passed over to England, where he continued his application to the art of ship- 
building ; and William III., in order to secure his friendship, entertained him 
with a naval review, presented him whh an elegant yacht, and permitted him 
to engage in his service a number of skilful workmen. At the end of two years 
Peter returned to Russia, accompanied by many men of science and skill, 
bringing all the useful and many of the ornamental arts in his train. The 
peace of Carlowitz, almost immediately concluded, seemed to afford him full 
leisure for the prosecution of his plans for civilizing his subjects. But Peter 
was somewhat ambitious of the reputation of a conqueror ; he considered it 



214 



EASTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE. 




"^ 



necessary to teach his people the art of war ; he wanted a port on the eastern 
shore of the Baltic for the success of his commercial schemes, and he thought 
that valuable acquisitions might be obtained by uniting with the Kings of Den- 
mark and Poland against Charles XII. of Sweden, then in his minority. 

After signing the peace 
in 1629 which released him 
from his connection with the 
Thirty Years' War, Christian 
IV. of Denmark for a time 
applied his labours to fur- 
thering the interests of his 
kingdom. He gave vent to 
his warlike disposition, how- 
ever, in hostilities against 
Sweden, whose sovereign 
had made certain unfriendly 
demonstrations. Christian 
was again unsuccessful, and 
a peace was made in 1644, 
by which Sweden gained 
important advantages. His 
successor, Frederic III., 
warred against the Swedes 
with no better success, but 
he was consoled under his reverses by an act of the three estates of the realm, 
which proclaimed him and his successors absolute sovereigns of Denmark. His 
successor. Christian IV., was the idol of the Danes, partly on account of his 
warlike habits, and partly because of his attention to commerce and manufac- 
tures, and his regard for improvement in the condition of the humbler classes. 
At his death he was succeeded by Frederic IV., the ally of Peter of Russia in 
the commencement of the war against Charles XII. 

The throne of Sweden, after the death of Gustavus Adolphus, had been 
filled by his daughter Christina, a child five years old, whose government was 
administered during her minority by the Chancellor Oxenstiern. Her character 
is one of the most extraordinary in history. She possessed but little of the 
gentler qualities of her sex, loved the society of scholars and learned men, and 
displayed a great passion for the accumulation of books, medals, and philoso- 
phical instruments. In her twenty-eighth year, apparently induced by her 
desire of indulging her tastes and caprices at perfect liberty, she resigned her 
crown and retired into private life. (May, 1654.) Oxenstiern took no further' 
interest in the aflfairs of the state after the abdication of Christina. He died 
indeed in the same year. Oxenstiern must be ranked among the greatest men 
who have taken a distinguished part in the affairs of the European world. 
Great and elevated views, a wonderful political sagacity and foresight, firmness 
and loftiness of purpose, wisdom in contriving and prudence and energy in 



CHRISTIA.N IV. OS DENMARK. 



CHARLES THE TWELFTH. 



215 



executing, a strict integrity, 




OXE N ST I E RN. 



and a constant devotion to the welfare of his 
country, are among the cha- 
racteristics of this great 
statesman.* 

Her cousin, Charles 
Gustavus, became her suc- 
cessor, under the title of 
Charles X. This sovereign 
made war against John Casi- 
mir with great success, but 
the Poles being aided in 
their struggles for national 
independence by his power- 
ful neighbours, he was 
obliged to retreat from 
Pomerania. He then im- 
mediately invaded Holstein, 
subdued the peninsula of 
Jutland, and forced Frede- 
ric of Denmark to conclude 
■ a humiliating peace at Ros- 
kilde, 1658. He nevertheless invaded Denmark in the following year, and 
seemed bent upon subjugating the whole kingdom, when death cut short his 
career, 1660. Charles XL, a minor, succeeded to his crown, and all the wars 
in which Sweden was engaged were soon settled by treaty. On attaining his 
majority, Charles XI. suffered himself to be drawn by Louis XIV. into the con- 
tests occasioned by the ambition of that monarch ; a foolish step, which cost 
him a war with Denmark and with Holland. This war terminated in 1679 by 
the compact of Fontainebleu, the Swedish monarch receiving in marriage the 
Danish princess Ulrica Eleanora. Charles then applied himself to the internal 
affairs of his kingdom ; the reformation of several abuses caused commotions 
among the nobility, who remonstrated against them ; but an act was passed by 
the states in 1693, which destroyed the power of the aristocracy, by declaring 
the king absolute. After this Charles employed himself in mediating between 
the conflicting states of Europe. His efforts were successful, and the treaty of 
Ryswick was brought about by his means. In 1697 he was succeeded by his 
son, Charles XII., the great rival of Peter of Russia, then fifteen years old. 

Peter the Great, having resolved to make himself master of the province 
of Ingria, which lies north-east of Livonia, and which had formerly belonged 
to his ancestors, entered into a league against Charles with Frederic Augustus 
of Saxony, who had succeeded to the throne of Sobieski, and with Frederic 
IV. of Denmark. The Danish king commenced the war by invading the terri- 
tories of the Duke of Holstein brother-in-law to the King of Sweden. Charles, 



* Encyc. Americana. 



216 EASTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE. 

upon whose youth and inexperience the confederates had built many hopes, 
seemed not at all alarmed at the confederacy which was formed against him ; 
but rather rejoiced at the opportunity for displaying the great talent for war 
which he knew himself to possess. At the same time he made all the necessary 
precautions and preparations, renewed the alliance of Sweden with England 
and Holland, and sent an army to the aid of his brother-in-law, the Duke of 
Holstein. In that duchy, the Danes, after taking some inconsiderable places, 
invested Tonningen, while the Russians, Poles, and Saxons entered Livonia 
and Ingria. Charles, having resolved to carry the war into Denmark, left his 
capital, never to return to it ; he embarked his troops at Carlscroon, leaving 
an extraordinary council, chosen from the senate, to regulate the affairs of 
government in his absence. 

Charles was joined at the mouth of the sound by a British and Dutch fleet 
sent to his assistance by William III. of England, and, by the co-operation of 
this naval force with his army, he hoped to take Copenhagen. As he landed, 
he put to flight the Danish force on the shore, and then, for the first time in his 
life, heard a general discharge of muskets loaded with ball. He asked Major 
Stuart, who stood near him, what was the occasion of that whistling he heard. 
" It is the sound of the bullets which they fire against your majesty." " Very 
well," said Charles; "this shall henceforth be my music." The citizens of 
Copenhagen sent a deputation to him, who fell on their knees before the young 
king, beseeching him not to bombard the town. He granted their request on 
their agreeing to pay him four hundred thousand rix-dollars. While he was 
thus successful in Denmark, the king of that country was in a dangerous posi- 
tion in Holstein, where he had failed in his operations against Tonningen, and 
where he was now cooped up, pressed by land on one side and by sea on the 
other. His capital and his fleet were in danger of falling to a powerful enemy 
in the midst of his country, and nothing but negotiation and submission could 
save him from ruin. The King of England offered his mediation, and a treaty, 
highly honourable to Charles, was concluded at Travendale between Denmark, 
Sweden, and Holstein, to the exclusion of Russia and Poland. (A. D. 1700.) 

Charles then immediately marched against the Russians, who had under- 
taken the siege of Narva with eighty thousand men. Charles had but eight 
thousand, but having carried all the outposts without difficulty, he formed the 
bold resolution of attacking the Russian camp. He broke up their intrench- 
ments with his artillery, ordered his men to march with fixed bayonets, and 
then, under cover of a storm of snow which was driven into the faces of the 
enemy by the wind, he made an assault. The Russians were unable to with- 
stand the shock, and, after an engagement of three hours, their intrenchments 
were forced on all sides. About eight thousand of the Russians were killed in 
the action, many were drowned in the Narva by the breaking of the bridge, 
thirty thousand were made prisoners, and all the baggage, magazines, and 
artillery fell into the hands of the victors. Charles entered Narva in triumph, 
supposing that by this one great blow he had rendered the Russians inoflfensive. 
But Peter was in nowise discouraged. " I knew that the Swedes would beat 



CHARLES THE TWELFTH. 217 

us,'' said he; "but in time they will teach us to become their conquerors." 
Though at the head of forty thousand men, he evacuated all the provinces he 
had invaded, and brought back his raw troops into his own country, where he 
employed himself in bringing them to a state of discipline, and in civilizing 
his people. Charles did not pursue his victory ; but, after spending the winter 
at Narva, marched against King Gustavus of Poland, who had besieged Riga 
in vain during the preceding campaign. He defeated the army of Gustavus 
on the well-contested field of Duna, July, 1701, made himself master of Livonia 
and Courland, and penetrated into Lithuania and Poland. At this moment, 
the Polish diet, jealous as ever of their liberties, and regarding the war with 
Sweden as a pretext for introducing foreign troops into the country, summoned 
their king to send his Saxons out of the country, and ordered him to admit no 
Russians. 

The Polish army alone, ill-disciplined, weak, and distracted by factions, 
was unable to resist, while Charles corrupted some of its oflScers and many of 
the principal men of the country by his secret negotiations. He entered War- 
saw, May 14, 1702, and soon after declared that he would not grant peace to 
Poland until it had elected a new king. The primate, who was in the interest 
of the Swedish monarch, and who had expected such a declaration, ordered it to 
be notified to all the palatines ; assuring them that it gave him great concern, 
but representing at the same time the absolute necessity of complying with the 
request of the conqueror. Augustus now brought his Saxon troops to his 
assistance, and with these and the few Poles who remained faithful to him, he 
gave Charles battle in a spacious plain near Glissaw, between Warsaw and 
Cracow, July 9, Augustus fought with great gallantry, but in vain ; three 
attempts made in person to rally his troops failed ; Charles's valour and good for- 
tune prevailed, and he gained a complete victory. The camp, baggage, cannon, 
and military chest of Augustus all fell into his hands, and Cracow surrendered 
without firing a gun. By a fall of his horse, however, Charles broke his leg, 
an accident which confined him to his bed for six weeks, and afforded an 
opportunity to Augustus to summon a diet to provide for the national defence. 
Charles, however, overturned all the proceedings of the diet of Lublin by 
another at W^arsaw, 1703, defeated the remains of the Saxon army, and drove 
Augustus into Saxony. Through the intrigues of the cardinal primate, the diet 
at Warsaw now declared that Augustus of Saxony was incapable of wearing the 
crown of Poland, and in July, 1704, the palatine of Posen, Stanislaus Leczinski, 
was raised to the throne. 

Although two of his enemies were thus reduced, Charles had still to 
encounter the power of the Czar, which was growing every day more formida- 
ble. Peter had afforded Augustus little immediate assistance ; but he had 
made a powerful diversion in his favour in Ingria, and succeeded in taking 
Narva by storm, after a regular siege. W^hen his troops had gained posses- 
sion of the city, they abandoned themselves to barbarity and violence, which 
Peter, flying from place to place, only arrested by killing two of his sol- 
diers with his own hands. He entered the town-house with the blood drip- 
VoL. IIL 28 T 



218 EASTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE. 

ping from his sword. Laying it on the table, he said to the magistrates : 
" This weapon is not stained with the blood of your fellow-citizens, but with 
that of my own people, which I have shed to save your lives." 

While he thus saved one city from destruction, Peter was erecting another 
at no very great distance, intended to become the place of his residence and 
the centre of his trade. The site chosen for the new city of Petersburg was a 
marshy island between Finland and Ingria, around which the Neva divides 
itself into several branches before it falls into the gulf of Neva, It was a desert 
spot, a heap of mud during the short summer, and a frozen pool in winter. 
There was no entrance to it on the land side but through pathless forests and 
deep morasses, and every appearance indicated that it w^as not designed for 
human habitation. Yet, in 1703, Peter brought from all parts of his dominions, 
even from Astracan and the frontiers of China, a body of three hundred thousand 
men ; he cleared forests, drained marshes, made roads, and raised mounds. Then 
only was he able to lay the foundations of his capital. An inundation demo- 
lished his works, the sterile soil would produce nothing, and a mortality carried 
off two hundred thousand of his men, yet Peter persevered in his undertaking. 
By the most liberal policy he drew thither artists and strangers of every descrip- 
tion, and by the most able management secured peace to the infant establish- 
ment, while fierce war raged all around. 

Augustus had not resigned all hopes of recovering his crown ; he hastily 
collected new troops, found his way into Poland, and retook Warsaw ; but was at 
length obliged to retire. He then concerted a scheme of operations with Peter, 
and sixty thousand Russians entered Poland to drive the Swedes from their acqui- 
sitions. Charles must have been crushed had success depended on numbers ; 
but he met the enemy with an undaunted front, routed the Russian divisions 
successively, and inspired such terror by the rapidity of his motions that they 
retreated to their own country. (1706.) In the mean time a victory obtained 
by a division of the Swedish army over the Saxons, opened a passage for 
Charles into the hereditary dominions of Augustus, and he now marched with 
twenty-four thousand men into Saxony, and pitched his camp in the heart of 
the kingdom. Augustus then sued for peace ; but obtained it only on the most 
humiliating conditions. 

Thus far, the career of the youthful warrior had been so brilliant as to fill 
all Europe with hopes of his friendship or apprehensions from, his power. 
Louis XIV., then in the midst of the most disastrous period of the war of the 
Spanish succession, solicited his alliance in the most earnest manner ; and the 
allies feared so much from the effects of the proposed treaty, that the Duke of 
Marlborough himself went to Saxony to dissuade the Swedish monarch from 
accepting the offers of France. He complimented Charles on his victories, and 
expressed a desire to learn more of the art of war from so great a commander. 
Marlborough was too craft}' not to learn in the course of conversation that 
Charles had an aversion to Louis XIV., and too observant not to discover from 
a map of Russia on the table, and the anger of the king when speaking of Peter, 
what his real intentions were. He therefore took his leave, convinced that the 



CHARLES THE TWELFTH. 219 

dispute which had arisen between Charles and the Emperor Joseph might easily 
be accommodated.* Joseph acquiesced in Charles's demands for toleration 
for the Protestants of Silesia, and the relinquishment of the quota which Sweden 
was bound to furnish for the German provinces, and, to his great joy, the Alex- 
ander of the North departed in quest of new adventures. f 

In September, 1707, Charles returned at the head of forty-three thousand 
men to Poland, where Peter had been endeavouring to retrieve the affairs of 
Augustus. As he advanced, the Czar retreated, but Charles determined to 
bring him to an engagement before he reached his own country. He made 
forced marches through morasses, deserts, and immense forests to come up 
with his enemy ; but had only the satisfaction of defeating, after a bloody 
engagement, an army of twenty thousand Russians, strongly intrenched. The 
Czar sent him serious proposals of peace, but the Swedish king, whom nothing 
could satisfy but the reduction of Peter to the abject condition in which he had 
left Augustus, declared that he would treat at Moscow. Resolving on the 
destruction of that ancient city, but forming no systematic plan of operations, 
he crossed the frontier. Peter replied to the haughty answer of Charles, that 
though his brother Charles always affected to play the Alexander, he hoped 
that the Czar would not prove a Darius. He then destroyed the roads and 
desolated the country on the direct line to Moscow, trusting to famine, fatigue, 
and continual partial engagements to prevent his enemy from reaching it. 

His policy succeeded. Charles, exhausted by privation, turned off towards 
the Ukraine, whither he had been invited by Mazeppa, the chief of the Cos- 
sacks, who had resolved to throw off his allegiance to the Czar. Peter disco- 
vered his plans, defeated them by the execution of his associates, and obliged 
the rebellious chief to join Charles in the character of a fugitive rather than in 
that of an ally. The Swedish monarch was the less affected by this misfortune, 
as he confidently expected the arrival of an army and a convoy from Sweden, 
which he had ordered to join him under the command of General Lewenhaupt. 
That officer, however, was forced into three engagements by the Russians, and 
though he greatly distinguished himself by his courage and conduct, he was 
compelled to set fire to his wagons in order to save them from the enemy. 

Despite these discouragements, and the severity of the winter, by which 
two thousand men at once were frozen to death almost in the king's presence, 
Charles continued active hostilities. At length he laid siege to Pultowa, on 
the frontiers of the Ukraine, the seat of one of the Czar's principal magazines. 
It was well garrisoned and obstinately defended ; the king himself being 
wounded in the heel as he was viewing the works. While he was still confined 
to his tent, he learned that the Czar was approaching to raise the siege. Ho 
would not wait to be attacked in his camp, but ordered a detachment of seven 
thousand men to press the siege, while he marched with the remainder to give 
battle to Peter. The disposition of his forces and the behaviour of his troops 
proved that the Czar and his subjects had at length learned to profit by the 

* Voltaire. | Taylor. Russell. 



220 EASTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE. 

lessons of the Swedes. The latter charged with incredible fury and broke the 
Russian cavalry ; but the horse rallied behind the foot, which remained firm. 
Meanwhile the Czar's artillery played with terrible effect upon the ranks of the 
enemy ; while Charles, having left the greater part of his heavy cannon in the 
morasses and defiles through which he had passed, was unable to contend 
against this formidable disadvantage. After a desperate combat of two hours, 
the Swedish army was irretrievably ruined ; eight thousand of their best troops 
were left dead on the fatal field of Pultowa, and six thousand were made 
prisoners. Twelve thousand of the fugitives were obliged to surrender after 
retreating to the Boristhenes or Dnieper, for want of boats to cross it. The 
military chest of Charles fell into the hands of the Russians, with all his 
treasures and the rich spoils of Poland and Saxony. The king himself escaped 
with three hundred of his guards to Bender, a Turkish town in Bessarabia, 
having lost in one day the fruits of nine years' successful warfare, and caused, 
by his rash valour, the annihilation of an army that might have spread terror 
over all Europe. The soldiers whom he made captive Peter transported to 
people the wilds of Siberia, w^here their necessities obliged them to exert to the 
utmost their talents and ingenuity. 

The Elector of Saxony now protested against the treaty which he had 
been forced to sign, and re-entered Poland ; Stanislaus was driven from the 
throne ; the Kings of Denmark and Prussia revived old claims on Swedish pro- 
vinces, and Peter invaded Livonia, Ingria, and Finland. The exiled Charles 
attempted to excite the Turkish monarch to a war with Russia ; and for a 
while a war of bribery was carried on between the rival kings. At length the 
corruption of the vizier was discovered and he was removed. His successor 
opposed a war with Russia, but at the end of two months he was replaced by 
the Pasha of Syria, whose first act was the imprisonment of the Russian 
ambassador. Both parties made great preparations for war ; and Peter was 
betrayed into an imprudent march to the capital of Moldavia by the representa- 
tions of Cantemir, the governor of that province, who wished to throw off the 
Turkish yoke. The prince and his subjects were divided in opinion upon this 
point, and though the governor welcomed Peter to his aid, the people looked 
upon him as an invader and would sell him no supplies. The vizier arrived 
and formed a fortified camp in front of the enemy ; and though Peter beat him 
off in three attempts to storm the Russian intrenchments, his immense host 
of light cavalry swept round the Czar's camp and cut off all his foraging 
parties. His destruction must have been effected by famine, but for the 
ability and heroism of his empress Catharine. This extraordinary woman had first 
attracted the czar's attention when in a very humble condition, atMarienburgin 
Livonia. The Emperor was struck with her appearance while she was waiting at 
table ; he raised her to the throne, and never had reason to regret his choice. 
In the present emergency, when the prospect of imavoidable death or sla- 
very had sunk the whole camp in despair, and Peter had retired to his tent 
in the most violent agitation, she boldly assumed the direction of affairs, 
sent a message and a present to the vizier, and in six hours concluded a 



PETER THE GREAT. 221 

treaty on terms which, though severe, were more favourable than Peter 
could reasonably have hoped under the circumstances. (July 21, 1711.) 
In two hours after the treaty was signed, he received abundant supplies of 
provisions from the Turks ; the Russians retired in safety ; and Charles 
reached the vizier's camp burning for the ruin of his rival, only to learn the 
downfall of his own expectations. 

The intrigues of the Swedish emissaries, however, caused the over- 
throw of the vizier, whose successor prudently determined to avoid a 
similar termination of his power by removing Charles from the Ottoman 
empire. (A. D. 1713.) The sultan sent him a letter of dismissal with his 
own hand, yet it was found necessary to resort to force to send him away. 
He made a fierce resistance, but he was overpowered and made prisoner, 
at the same time that Stanislaus, who had come to share his misfortunes, 
was also a prisoner in the hands of a guard of soldiers who were conduct- 
ing him to Bender. Charles, whose infatuation amounted to madness, still 
persisted in remaining in Turkey, while his presence in the North would 
have made those who were dismembering his dominions to tremble. The 
Swedes, under General Steenbock, had gained a splendid victory over the 
Danes and the Saxons at Gadebusch, in Mecklenburg, and drawn upon 
himself the indignation of Europe by burning the defenceless town of Altona ; 
but the Russians joined his other opponents, and he was compelled to surren- 
der himself and his army prisoners of war. 

Peter pushed forward his conquests in Finland, and gained a great naval 
victory over the Swedes near the island of Defend. (1714.) This crowning 
glory was followed by a triumphal entry into St. Petersburg. Hitherto Charles 
had betrayed no concern at the progress of affairs in the North, but when he 
learned that the council which he had left to administer the affairs of Sweden 
was about to make peace with Russia and Denmark, and appoint his sister 
regent, he announced his intention of returning home. He left Turkey in Octo- 
ber, 1714, and travelled through Hungary and Germany to Stralsund, the capital 
of Swedish Pomerania. Here, in the beginning of the next campaign, he found 
himself surrounded by enemies. The united forces of Prussia, Denmark, and 
Saxony besieged Stralsund, while the Russian fleet, which rode triumphant in 
the Bahic, threatened a descent on Sweden. 

Charles displayed all his accustomed bravery in defending Stralsund, but 
was compelled to escape in a small vessel to Sweden, and suffer the town to 
capitulate. It was now supposed that he would be driven out of Sweden by 
his enemies, when, to the astonishment of all Europe, he invaded Norway. 
He now found his attention drawn to the great designs of his favourite minister, 
Goertz, who took advantage of a diversity of interest among the enemies of 
Sweden to propose a league between Charles and Peter, by which they might 
give law to Europe. While negotiations were on foot, Charles pursued his 
war with Norway, which he invaded a second time. He invested Fredericks- 
hall in the depth of winter, where his career was suddenly ended. His fondness 
for war had plunged the nation into the greatest distress ; and this circum- 

t2 



222 EASTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE. 



f 




CHARLES THE TWELFTH. 
From a cast tnktn after his death.* 



stance and the manner of his death leaves but little room to doubt his having 
fallen by a conspiracy in the* camp, notwithstanding Voltaire's assertion to 
the contrary. He was shot while reconnoitring the enemy's works on the 
evening of November 30th, 1718, and his corpse was secretly brought to his 
quarters, and the story spread that he had been killed by a grape shot from 
the enemy. The appearance of his head, correctly represented above, leads 
irresistibly to the conclusion that he was struck by a brace of pistol balls, shot 
by a hand so near that both balls formed but one aperture in the skull. The 
importance of this event can hardly be overrated. It undoubtedly changed the 
whole course of European politics. 

* The above illustration and the head of Peter the Great on page 226, are drawn from 
two valuable casts in the possession of J. Von Sonntag Havilland, Esq., which were 
obtained by him when in Russia, through the influence of his uncle, Admiral Count Mor- 
dewinoff, President of the Council of the Empire, and Minister of Marine. The history 
of these casts is as follows. Upon the death of Charles, his sister and successor had a 
mask of his features made from the corpse; from this two casts were taken, one of which 
was placed in the palace at Stockholm, and the other she sent with a complimentary letter 
to his old enemy, Peter the Great, (who placed it in his Museum, where it has ever since 
remained ;) this delicate compliment was returned by Catharine upon the death of the Czar. 

We have been tlius particular in our account of the casts, as that of Charles affords a 
striking illustration of Voltaire's usual inaccuracy in historic facts. The account that he 
gives of the manner of the king's death, and of the subsequent conduct of his two French 
attendants, MM. Siquier and Megret, who at the time were generally believed to have been 
his assassins, is calculated of itself to create suspicion in the mind of every reader. Con- 



CHARACTER OF CHARLES XII. 



223 



At Charles's death, says a late writer, Sweden sunk from the rank of a 
leading power. In his last years he had formed great plans for the improve- 
ment of its navy, trade, and commerce. Firmness, valour, and love of justice 
were the grand features of Charles's character, but they were disfigured by an 
obstinate rashness. After his return, he showed himself more peaceable, gentle, 
moderate, and disposed to politic measures. Posterity, considering him in 
relation to his times, will say that he had great virtues and great faults ; that 
he was seduced by prosperity, but not overcome by adversity. 

As a sovereign, having charge of the interests of a great nation, he will not 
bear comparison with Peter the Great ; as a general, he can scarcely be consi- 
dered the equal of Gustavus Adolphus or Frederic the Second ; but it is 
undoubtedly true that during his military life he was regarded as the great 
hero of Europe, and that he commanded more admiration as a warrior through- 
out the world than any of his able and valiant contemporaries. 

scious of this, and anxious to exculpate his countrymen, he, for that purpose, relies upon the 
nature of the wound which caused the king's death as being of a character which a pistol- 
ball could not have produced. " A ball of half a pound had struck him on the right temple, 
and made a hole sufficient to receive three fingers at once. His head reclined upon the parapet; 
his left eye beat in, and the right one entirely beat out of the socket." The cast in question, 
taken from the flesh, proves the entire falsity of this description. Upon the right temple 
there are two distinct holes of the size and character which a brace of moderate-sized pistol- 
balls would make. Having thus given the facts, our readers must draw their conclusions ; 
our own we have given in the text. That the king was assassinated we think the cast 
places beyond doubt; as such a wound could not have been received from the enemy. Any 
thing further we have no peculiar means of knowing. 

In conclusion we will remark, as to these very interesting and valuable casts, that were 
our knowledge of the source from whence they were procured less certain than it is, they 
bear every intrinsic mark of authenticity ; and together with those, before alluded to, in the 
Imperial and Royal collections, are believed to be the only copies in existence. Mr. Havil- 
land has kindly permitted us to take the first drawings from them that have ever been 
published ; and we believe engravings from these masks have never appeared in Europe. 





DUEE OF CUMBERLAND. 



CHAPTER XI, 







LREADY at the treaty of Utrecht regard was had, when 
territorial concessions were made, as much to commer- 
cial advantages and privileges as to the fitness for war 
or productive qualities. The British negotiators who 
assisted at that treaty have been much censured for not 
having derived greater advantages from the victories 
of their unequalled general, the Duke of Marlborough ; 
but though the treaty they framed contained the germs 
of two future wars, it laid the foundation of the com- 
mercial prosperity of England, and caused her to occupy the place at the head 
of the commercial states of Europe, hitherto occupied by Holland. 

Upon the accession of George I. to the British throne, a change in the 
administration ensued ; power was confided to the Whig ministers, who found 
themselves strengthened after an election by a Whig majority in parliament. 
They used their power to crush their opponents, and so violent were their 
measures against their predecessors that the Lords Bolingbroke and Ormond 
went into exile. This was thought a favourable time for an effort in favour 
of the Stuart family, and the Tories resolved to attempt a restoration by 
force of arms. Their expectations were by far too sanguine ; for but a small 
portion of the people of England and Scotland were at all disposed to make 
war, even under favourable circumstances, and the Duke of Orleans, who 
swayed the destinies of France during the minority of Louis XV., was desirous 
of cultivating the good will of King George. He therefore refused aid to the 
Pretender, who nevertheless sailed for Scotland. The Earl of Mar had mean- 
while commenced the civil war in the name of James IIL, in Braemar, Septem- 
ber 6, 1715. His standard was soon joined by nine or ten thousand men of 
the Highland clans, who rendered him master of all Scotland north of the 
Forth. There he weakly permitted himself to be checked by the Duke of 

(224) 



PETER T PI E GREAT. 225 

Argyle with an inferior force. No insurrection occurred in any part of England 
except in Northumbria, where the Earl of Derwentwater, Lord Widdrington, 
and Mr. Foster, a member of parliament, appeared in arms. They were joined 
by a body of Scottish infantry ; but conducted their operations so badly that 
they were surrounded by the royal forces at Preston, and compelled to surren- 
der at discretion. (November 13, 1715.) Most of the leaders were condemned 
to suffer the punishment usually awarded to treason. 

On the same day with the misfortune at Preston, the Earl of Mar had 
fought a battle with the Duke of Argyle, at Sheriffmuir, near Dunblane, in 
which the right wing of each army gained the advantage, while the whole vic- 
tory was undecided. Nothing but brilliant success could have saved the 
insurgents, and this battle proved their ruin. The wavering declared loudly 
for the existing government ; and many of the insurgent leaders returned to 
their allegiance. On the 22d of December, the Pretender arrived at Peterhead, 
but without troops or arms. At the expiration of a month he was obliged to 
retreat before Argyle, and on the 4th of February he sailed with the Earl of 
Mar from Montrose for France. Besides many who were executed, about forty 
Scottish families had their estates confiscated in consequence of this affair, and 
many of the best inhabitants of the country became exiles for life. 

Before we consider the effects of the policy of the Duke of Orleans upon 
the affairs of Europe, we will glance at the remainder of the history of Peter 
the Great. That prince, on the conclusion of peace with Sweden, assumed the 
title of Emperor, with the unanimous consent of all Europe. By aiding the 
lawful ruler of Persia in a civil war in that country, he obtained considerable 
accessions of territory on the south and west of the Caspian Sea, where he im- 
mediately applied his system of internal improvements. His treatment of his 
son Alexis, however, casts somewhat of a shade on his character, and serves to 
show w^ith what difficulty the defects of a bad education can he overcome, and 
the probable abuse of absolute power by even the most patriotic rulers. Some 
of the Russian priests and Boyars had induced Alexis to promise that, in the 
event of his accession to the throne, he would restore the old state of things, 
and abolish the institutions of his father. Peter was filled with rage at the 
threatened overthrow of this system, which he had devoted his life to build up; 
he caused the prince to be arrested, forced him to sign an abdication of the 
crown, and threw him into prison, where he soon afterwards died, though the 
assertion that he was poisoned is extremely doubtful. Peter chose Catharine 
for his successor, and when, at his death in 1725, she assumed the reins of 
power, the excellence of her administration justified his choice. 

The martial zeal of the Turkish nation was excited by the inglorious treaty 
of Carlowitz, and they flocked with such eagerness to the standard of the war- 
like sultan Ahmed III., that he was enabled to expel the Venetians from the 
Morea in a single campaign. (1715.) The Emperor Charles VI. interfered in 
the war as protector of the peace of Carlowitz. He raised an arm.y and sent it 
under the command of Prince Eugene against th^ Turks. That gallant com- 
mander crossed the Danube, and defeated the grand vizier at Peterwaradin ; 
Vol. III. 29 



226 



CARDINAL ALBERONI. 




PETER THE GRHA.T 
FroM a cast toAru ti/tvr Aw diUifi.^ 



the Turkish loss being twenty-five thousand men, that of the Austrians but five 
thousand. (1716.) In the next year, Eugene laid siege to Belgrade, which 
he captured after obtaining a bloody victory over an immense Turkish army 
which was sent to its relief. In consequence of these disasters the Turks sought 
peace, and a treaty was concluded in 1718, at Passarowitz, by which Austria 
and Russia were considerable gainers ; but the Venetian interests were neg- 
lected. 

This. remote war, however, had but little influence upon the political con- 
dition of Southern Europe : that depended in no small degree on the preserva- 
tion of the integrity of the peace of Utrecht, a measure in which every commer- 
cial power of Europe was interested. At this juncture the eyes of all the great 
powers of Europe were directed upon the court of Spain, where the unquiet 
ambition of the prime-minister of Philip V. was at work, forming the most 
audacious political schemes. Giulio Alberoni, the son of a peasant and origi- 
nally a poor curate near Parma, had risen by his talents and his arts to be 
prime-minister of Spain. He enjoyed the favour of the queen and the complete 
control of her husband, and when he had obtained for himself a cardinal's hat, 
he endeavoured to signalize his public administration. To his comprehensive 
mind it seemed not too arduous to recover for the Spanish monarchy all that 
it had lost by the treaty of Utrecht. Victor Amadeus of Savoy was easily 
drawn over to his plans, and the pope and the Italian princes were not adverse 

* See note on page 222. 



MISSISSIPPI AND SOUTH SEA SCHEME S. 227 

to his designs. But he did not stop here. He extended his views beyond 
Spain ; to France, where he designed to overthrow the regency of Orleans, and 
acquire the government for his master as the nearest relative of Louis XV. ; to 
England, where, by the aid of Russia and Sweden, he proposed to re-establish 
the Stuart family, and thus secure a grateful ally to Spain ; and to the Porte, 
where he wished to excite the Turks to war upon the empire, and thus prevent 
the hostile interference of Charles VI. The jealousy of France and England 
was aroused, and they quickly formed with Holland and Austria the famous 
Quadruple Alliance. (A. D. 1716.) 

Alberoni pursued his schemes, and w^ar was in consequence declared. 
For a little while the vigorous direction of affairs seemed to justify the pre- 
sumption of the cardinal ; but the resources of Spain had been too much 
exhausted by the war of the succession to sustain this new contest. Sir George 
Byng, the British admiral in the Mediterranean, annihilated the Spanish fleet 
off the coast of Sicily, and then poured such numbers of imperial troops into 
that island that the Spaniards, who had but just conquered it, were driven out. 
All the magnificent prospects of Alberoni were overthrown, and Philip was 
compelled to dismiss his minister and submit to the terms of the Quadruple 
Alliance. (A. D. 1720.) Had Alberoni succeeded in his daring and gigantic 
projects, he would have been remembered as the equal of Ximenes, Richelieu, 
and Oxenstiern, and perhaps neither one of those great ministers knew better 
how to set in violent and concentrated motion all the political springs of his 
time. In political virtue his reputation loses nothing by a comparison with 
those whose efforts were attended with better success ; yet he, whom great and 
extensive views marked as a statesman of no common mind, has been handed 
down to posterity as a restless incendiary and a superficial politician. 

The disorder in which the Duke of Orleans found the finances of France 
at his assumption of the regency, added to the deficiency of the revenue, 
induced him to listen to a project by Avhich a Scotch adventurer, named John 
Law, proposed to pay off the national debt and deliver the revenue from the 
enormous interest by which it was overwhelmed. This plan consisted in the 
establishment of a bank of issue, whose shares were given to the national credi- 
tors in exchange for their stock, and also offered to the public. In order the 
more readily to effect a sale of these shares, the bank was joined with a com- 
pany having a monopoly of trade with the Mississippi territory and Canada, 
from whose commercial speculations the most extravagant profits were antici- 
pated. His success was so rapid that in 1719 the nominal value of the funds 
exceeded eighty times the real value of all the current coin in the realm. The 
bubble soon burst. The hopes of profit by the Mississippi company proved 
erroneous, the holders of the notes vainly endeavoured to convert them into 
money, and the whole scheme resulted in a general bankruptcy. Thousands 
of weahhy persons were reduced to indigence, which the government could not 
alleviate. 

In England, Sir John Blount, one of the directors of a company formed 
for trading to the South Sea, proposed, in imitation of Law's plan, a scheme 



228 



SIR ROBERT W A L P O L E. 




USDAI, STRUCK IN COMMEMORATION OP THE TAKING OF PORTO DEI^I-O. 



for the purchase and management of all the government liabilities. The com- 
pany was accordingly empowered to raise funds by means of shares. South 
Sea stock suddenly rose to ten times its original value, and other speculations 
were started with almost equal success. The wary now sold out their stock, 
slight suspicions led to distrust, and a general panic followed. A committee 
of parliament succeeded with great difficulty in restoring credit, by partially 
equalizing the state of gain and loss among the innocent sufferers, and thus a 
general bankruptcy was averted. Sir Robert Walpole, who was mainly instru- 
mental in effecting this arrangement, became prime-minister, 1721. By his 
efforts and those of Cardinal Fleury, who succeeded to the direction of affairs 
in France after the death of the Duke of Orleans in 1723, the peace of Europe 
was almost uninterruptedly maintained for twenty years. A short war between 
France and Austria was occasioned by the Emperor's anxiety to have the Prag- 
matic Sanction confirmed by France. In the east the arms of the Empress 
Anne, niece of Peter the Great, triumphed over the Turks. The success of 
this princess encouraged Charles VI. to commence hostilities against the Porte ; 
but he was unfortunate. This war was scarcely concluded when the death of 
Charles involved Europe in the contentions of a new disputed succession. 

The distinctive features of Sir Robert Walpole's administration of affairs 
were his love of peace, and his efforts for developing the commercial 
resources and arranging the finances of Great Britain. He was rather 
unpopular, because he would not gratify the national hatred against Spain ; 
but he contended against a powerful oppositioii by unbounded parliamentary 
corruption. The interested clamors of some merchants who had been inter- 
rupted in a contraband traffic with the Spaniards, compelled him at length to 
declare war. (A. D. 1739.) The capture of Porto Bello at the outset of the 
war induced Walpole to send out large armaments, under Commodore Anson, 
Admiral Vernon, and General Cathcart, against the Spanish colonies. Vernon 
and Cathcart, or rather Wentworth, who succeeded to the command by the 
death of Cathcart, failed in an attack upon Carthagena ; and though they were 



BATTLE OF C H O T U S I T Z. 229 

both reinforced from England, they returned home, having lost some twenty- 
thousand men. Anson was on the whole more successful, but the English 
would not renew the enterprise. 

Maria Theresa had scarcely seated herself on the throne of her father when 
she found herself surrounded by a host of enemies. The Elector of Bavaria, 
and the Kings of France, Poland, Spain, and Sardinia, all preferred hostile 
claims, and Frederic II., the young King of Prussia, who had just succeeded 
to the throne and to the control of the full treasury and well-appointed army 
of his father, entered Silesia and conquered that rich province. (1741.) The 
French and Bavarians invaded Austria and Bohemia, and drove the queen 
from her capital. She fled to Hungary and convoked the diet at Presburg, 
where, with her young infant in her arms, she made so eloquent an appeal to 
the barons that they drew their swords in a transport of enthusiasm, exclaiming, 
"We will die for our king, Maria Theresa." 

The whole force of Hungary was quickly marshalled round her, and the 
British parliament voted her considerable subsidies. Walpole was driven 
from office by the war party, and Great Britain was embarked by his successors 
in a quarrel with which they had no reason for interfering. The army of the 
queen became invested with preternatural strength, and the wild Hungarian 
hosts, thirsting for vengeance, drove her enemies before them. Throughout 
Bavaria they committed the most savage atrocities, everywhere marking their 
path with blood. Frederic obtained aid from Augustus of Saxony, put himself 
at the head of the Saxon troops, and pushed through Bohemia and Moravia to 
Olmutz, where he was joined by a section of his own army, which had pene- 
trated into Moravia from Silesia. The Prussians burst in upon Upper Austria, 
their hussars swept the plains, carrying terror and dismay to the very heart of the 
capital. But the Saxons, by their want of energy, neutralized the advantages 
gained by their allies, and Frederic was obliged to retire from Moravia by the 
failure of Augustus to comply with his requisitions. 

Meanwhile a Prussian corps, under the command of the Prince of Dessau, 
had reduced Glatz, and it now joined Frederic, April 17, at Chrudin in Bohe- 
mia. After a short period of repose here, the king again took up the sword, 
and speedily found himself opposed to the Austrians, under the command of 
Prince Charles of Lorraine and Field-marshal Konigseck. On the 17th of May, 
the thunders of the Austrian cannon announced an assault upon the Prussian 
army, at Chotusitz, near Czaslau. The assailants were repulsed by Field-mar- 
shal Buddenbrock, who dashed upon them with irresistible impetuosity at the 
head of the Prussian cavalry. But the advantage derived from this movement was 
lessened by the confusion and disorder brought into the Prussian ranks by the 
clouds of dust it occasioned. Konigseck then led on the Austrian infantry of 
the right wing against the Prussian left, whose position near .CJholusitz was so 
disadvantageous that the infantry were compelled to give way^ though the 
cavalry fought with intrepidity and courage. The victors fired the village, but 
this unnecessary act of cruelty was injurious to them, inasmuch as the flames 
served as a screen for their enemies. Frederic now headed an assault in per- 

U 



230 BATTLES OF D E T T I N G E N AND F O N T E N O Y. 

son on the Austrian left wing, drove it back upon the right, and charged into 
the ranks of both. Their position was disadvantageous, and the onset of the 
Prussians irresistible : the whole army fled in dismay. Thus, in a few hours 
of the forenoon, the heroic king won a victory which secured him a peace and 
the possession of Silesia and Glatz. 

France, after having lost many men in the contest, and sustained repeated 
disasters, sued for peace. Maria Theresa, intoxicated with success, haughtily 
refused, hoping to gain still greater triumphs by means of Great Britain. The 
English, under the king George II. and the Earl of Stair, defeated the French 
army at Dettingen, when a little prudence on the part of the French commander 
would have caused the surrender of the whole English army, and with it the king 
and his prime-minister. (June, 1743.) George II. now took the direction of 
affairs into his own hands, but failed to improve his victory. The death of 
Charles VII. did not put an end to the war. The French and Spaniards, 
alarmed at Maria Theresa's alliance with Sardinia, concluded the celebrated 
Family Compact, by which they bound themselves to preserve each other's 
dominions entire. They determined to make a descent on England in favour 
of the Pretender, and assembled a large armament for that purpose, but a storm 
and the presence of a large hostile fleet prevented them from reaching their 
destination. (A. D. 1744.) In the Mediterranean an indecisive naval action 
took place between the British and their enemies, for which the gallant British 
commander, Matthews, who had fought like a hero, was tried and condemned. 
In Italy the war was sanguinary but indecisive, Frederic of Prussia, 
having again taken up arms, was defeated with great loss and driven back into 
Silesia. In Flanders the French army, under Marshal Saxe, was attacked, 
while strongly posted at Fontenoy, by the combined army of English, Dutch, 
and Germans. Louis XV. and the dauphin were both in the ranks of the 
French army, while the English were led by the king's second son, the Duke 
of Cumberland. It is asserted that during the battle the British beat every 
regiment in the French army, yet they were in the end defeated, with the loss 
of 7000 men, and during the whole campaign, after this disaster, the Duke of 
Cumberland did not venture to face the enemy. (May, 1745.) Marshal Saxe 
reduced some of the most considerable towns in the Netherlands, but Maria 
Theresa achieved the principal object of her ambition, the election of her 
husband to the imperial throne. In Italy the Austrian and Piedmontese troops 
gained great advantages ; in 1746, they won the battle of Piacenza against the 
French and Spaniards, and for a time occupied Genoa. In 1747, a bloody 
but indecisive campaign took place in Italy and in Flanders. 

The discontent occasioned in England by the disaster at Fontenoy, in- 
duced the grandson of James II., commonly known as the young Pretender, to 
attempt the restoration of his house to the British throne. The French would 
now grant him no supply ; but he nevertheless landed from a single vessel, 
with seven attendants, on the coast of Invernesshire, where he soon succeeded 
in collecting about fifteen hundred men around him. Sir John Cope, who 
commanded in Scotland, marched with 1400 infantry to suppress the insurrec- 



THE REBELLION IN SCOTLAND. 



233 







'if 



THE TOUNO PRETENDER. 



tion ; but his measures were so ill-judged that the Pretender advanced succes- 
sively to Perth and Edinburgh. Cope, however, ventured upon a battle at 
Preston-Pans, where the Pretender Charles gained a complete victory. He 
suffered six weeks to elapse in pageantries at Edinburgh, a period that allowed 
the ministry time to bring over troops from Flanders; Charles, however, crossed 
the borders and captured Carlisle. He marched back to Stirling, where he met 
with considerable reinforcements, and was now sufficiently strong to hazard 
another battle with the government forces, at Falkirk. He was again victori- 
ous ; but unable to improve his advantage, he retired to Inverness, where he 
spent the winter. 

In the spring hostilities w^ere recommenced ; the government troops having 
been reinforced by a body of Hessians, and the whole put under the charge 
of the Duke of Cumberland. On the 16th of April a battle was fought at 
Culloden Moor, near Inverness, where the army of Charles was routed with 
great slaughter ; the victors gave no quarter, but murdered many of their pri- 
soners in cold blood. Charles himself had the greatest difficulty in escaping 
from the country, and for several months the Highlands were subjected to the 
worst form of military despotism. 

The spirit of the English had been revived by the account of the reduc- 
VoL. III. 30 u 2 



234 



THE PEACE OF AI X-L A- C H A P E L L E. 



tion of the French colony of Cape Breton, in North America, and the national 
animosity of both parties vented itself in fitting out expeditions against each 
other's colonies, which, ill-planned and badly executed, led to no decisive 
results. As all parties grew weary of a war which only resulted in a waste of 
blood and treasure, conferences for a peace w^ere commenced at Breda, but 
they were terminated by the extravagant demands of the French, and hostilities 
recommenced. At sea, the British were generally successful ; while on the 
land they lost the obstinate and bloody battle of St. Val, and the fortress of 
Bergen-op-Zoom, believed to be impregnable, was captured by the French, 
who with it obtained the control of the whole navigation of the Scheldt. 
During the nine years' hostilities, the national debt of Britain had been 
increased thirty millions, and the French had expended an equal sum ; they 
therefore agreed with all the other powers, at the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 
mutually to restore things to the condition in which they were at the* com- 
mencement of the war. Silesia, however, remained in the hands of Frederic 
the Great, under the articles of the treaty of Dresden, concluded in 1745. 



/ 



\ V'"i I' ri' 



i''>.-^'1iiM'lll!IB 




FREDERIC3Z: THE GREAT ESACTING THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE FROM THE SILESIAN 
PRINCES ON HIS OWN SWORD. ATATIS SXIX. 




CHAPTER XII. 



^ts ^sttn ¥faxg' iB&z. 




HE peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, owing to incapacity or 
want of information on the part of the negotiators, left 
unsettled most of the colonial questions at issue between 
England and France, thereby furnishing grounds for the 
renewal of hostilities. The limits of the English colony 
of Nova Scotia or Acadia, the right claimed by the 
French to connect their possessions in Canada and 
Louisiana by a line of forts along the Ohio, the disputed 
occupation of some of the neutral West India islands 
by the French, and the efforts of both nations to acquire political supremacy in 
India, all served to give rise to protracted controversies, which were soon 
merged into active hostilities. War was fiercely waged by the colonies of the 
two nations in 1755, but it was not until the following year that war was for- 
mally declared. 

(235) 



236 



THE SEVEN YEARS WAR. 




DEATH OF ADMIRAI. BYNG. 



This war had no immediate connection with a dispute which was about 
to involve Europe in one of the fiercest struggles of modern times, but they 
were blended together by the anxiety of the King of England to provide for 
his possessions in Germany. Austria looked upon Frederic of Prussia with 
jealousy, mingled with a desire for the recovery of Silesia. The Prussian 
monarch was besides the personal enemy of Elizabeth of Russia, and of Augus- 
tus III. of Saxony and Poland, both of whom joined in the plan formed for his 
destruction. France, under the disgraceful government of Louis XV., suffered 
herself to be drawn from that position in which she had risen to the summit of 
power, hostility to the House of Austria, to become the humble assistant of that 
power. This was chiefly effected by the able diplomacy of Prince Kaunitz, 
the real guide of Austria during four reigns. 

The French commenced hostilities under favourable auspices. They 
made vigorous preparations for war and menaced England with an invasion, 
which, though it was only intended as a mask for their real designs, caused the 
utmost consternation among the British nation, whose government hired large 
bodies of Hessians ajid Hanoverians for protection. The reduction of Minorca, 
however, was the real object of the French ministry. A formidable force was 
landed on the island for this purpose, and Fort St. Philip, which commanded 
the principal town and harbour, was captured after a brave defence by General 
Blakeney. That officer was raised to the peerage ; but Admiral Byng, who 
had failed in an attempt to relieve the place, and whose conduct was irreproach- 
able, w^as charged with treason, found guilty, and shot. The popular discon- 



OPERATIONS OF FREDERIC THE GREAT. 237 

tent at the loss of Minorca had been increased by the want of success which 
attended the English arms in America ; the king was forced to dismiss his 
ministers, and a new administration was formed, the ostensible premier of 
which was the Duke of Devonshire, while William Pitt, afterwards Earl of 
Chatham, was the real head. Some further concession being required by 
popular clamor, it was resolved to sacrifice Byng, whose only fault appears to 
have been an error of judgment. He was accordingly shot on board ship, and 
behaved to the last with a composed and dignified fortitude, which effectually 
clears his memory from the stain of cowardice which many British historians 
have laboured to affix to it. (1757.) 

Frederic of Prussia assumed in the commencement of the war a stately 
behaviour. He called upon the empress-queen for an explicit assurance con- 
cerning the hostile preparations he saw making on his frontiers ; but instead 
of a satisfactory explanation he received evasive answers, which left no doubt 
that the intention of the Austrians was to crush him. Ever prompt and decided 
in neutralizing the plans of his enemies, Frederic resolved to be beforehand in 
the field, and, by assuming the aggressive, to avert the war from his own terri- 
tories. His dispositions were conducted with as much secrecy as they were 
executed with despatch ; none but the most trustworthy generals received 
information of his designs, and the generals of brigades were not informed of 
their destination until the very eve of their departure. In this manner he com- 
pleted his preparations, and then hastened into Saxony. Dresden fell, and 
Augustus was blockaded in his strong camp at Pidna. An Austrian army of 
fifty thousand men, under General Brown, advanced to his relief. Frederic 
first detached a part of his force as an army of observation, and soon afterwards 
putting himself at its head, resolved to give battle to Brown. The Austrian 
forces numbered twice as many as his own ; yet he defeated them at Lowositz. 
In consequence of the defeat of their allies, the Saxons surrendered themselves 
prisoners of war. Augustus abandoned Saxony to his enemy, and fled to his 
kingdom of Poland. In addition to the twenty-four thousand men promised 
to Austria, and commanded by the Prince de Soubise, a French army of sixty 
thousand men entered Germany, under the Marshal D'Estrees, and menaced 
the electorate of Hanover. The Duke of Cumberland was sent over by George 
II. to protect that electorate with an army of forty thousand Hessians and Hano- 
verians, including a few regiments of Prussians. The duke attempted in vain 
to stop the progress of D'Estrees. That marshal defeated him at Hastemberg 
at the very moment in which a court intrigue superseded him in his command, 
substituting the Marshal de Richelieu. The new commander followed up the 
plans of D'Estrees, enclosed the Hanoverians near Stade on the Elbe, forced 
Cumberland to sign the capitulation of Clostersevern, sent back a part of the 
army to their homes, condemned the remainder to inactivity and left Hanover 
in the hands of the enemy. 

The campaign opened inauspiciously for Frederic. An army of a hundred 
and thirty thousand Russians was on the borders of Lithuania, marching to 
invade Prussia; the Swedes, hoping to recover Pomerania, were ready to enter 



238 THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 

that country ; the French and imperialists were advancing through Germany, 
while Maria Theresa had assembled four armies for the prosecution of the war, 
whose united strength amounted to a hundred and eighty thousand men. 
Notwithstanding the immense preparations of his enemies, Frederic resolved to 
pursue his original plan of penetrating into Bohemia. For this end he divided 
his force into four divisions, and, by a series of masterly movements, entered 
that country and reunited his troops. On the march the Prince of Bevern had 
gained a signal victory over an army of twenty thousand men under Count 
Konigseg, and effected a junction with Marshal Schwerin. That officer had 
failed in his attempt to cut off" the retreat of Konigseg, but had been so fortu- 
nate, notwithstanding, as to seize an immense magazine which the enemy had 
formed at Jungbuntzlaw.* Frederic's situation appeared to be such that only 
uninterrupted success could save him from the loss of his kingdom. Fully 
aware of the importance of the stake, the great leader had marched on Prague, 
which was defended by Marshal Brown with one great army. When joined 
by the Prince of Bevern and Schwerin, he resolved to give battle and over- 
whelm Prince Leopold, who had taken command of Brown's army, before 
Daun, the cautious and fortunate Austrian, could arrive with his forces. On 
the 6th of May, 1757, was fought the battle of Prague. 

Frederic, Ferdinand of Brunswick, and the king''s brother, Prince Henry, 
distinguished themselves by their courage in the action ; but the chief glory 
was with the gallant old Marshal Schwerin. The ground was swampy and 
hilly, and as the Prussians worked their way through and approached the 
enemy, they were received with a fierce cannonade, which made terrible car- 
nage, levelling whole ranks with the ground. Every attack made was unsuc- 
cessful ; it seemed as if human courage could hold out no longer against such 
destructive odds, and the Prussians began to waver. The stout old marshal 
seized the standard from the hand of an ensign, and waving it in the air, called 
on his regiment to follow him. He rushed into the thickest of the fire, where 
he fell dead, pierced with four balls ; but General Manteufel took the gory flag 
from his hand and led on the troops to revenge their invincible commander. 
The great general of the Austrians, Brown, also fell mortally wounded, and his 
fall decided the fate of the day. 

Victory remained w^ith Frederic ; but it had been dearly purchased. 
Twelve thousand five hundred Prussians lay dead or wounded on the field of 
battle; twenty-four thousand of the enemy were killed, wounded, or taken. 
One portion of the defeated army was shut up in Prague ; the remainder fled 
to join the troops which, under Daun, were now close at hand. In the city the 
Prince of Lorraine was besieged with 46,000 men, without resources left to 
enable them to hold out any considerable time ; if Daun had been defeated this 
host must inevitably have surrendered and the campaign ended in the most 
glorious manner by the Prussians. 

The cautious Austrian soon found himself opposed by Frederic with thirty 

* Lloyd's Campaigns. 



DESPERATE CONDITION OF FREDERIC. 239 

thousand men ; but though his forces were far superior in numbers, he would 
risk nothing. He occupied at Kollin an almost impregnable position, and 
awaited the attack of his enemy. The battle was fought there on the 18th of 
June. Frederic had formed a most excellent plan for the action, and had it 
been followed out he would probably have secured the victory. The order of 
battle was that which Epaminondas had practised, and which is known as the 
oblique line of action. The Prussians in the onset routed the right w^ing of the 
Austrians ; the centre and the other wing of Frederic's army had but to follow 
up this success by falling upon the enemy's flank, battalion after battalion in 
succession, and thus complete its annihilation. Every thing was prospering, 
when Frederic suddenly ordered a halt. He appears to have departed from 
his own well-digested plan at the moment that Daun, despairing of success, 
had given orders for a retreat. Through the halt thus made, the Prussians 
found themselves directly in front of the position held by the Austrians, which 
they had strongly intrenched and rendered insurmountable ; a Saxon colonel 
suppressed the order to retreat, and when the Prussians attempted an assault, 
the regiments were swept away in succession by the destructive fire of the 
Austrian artillery. No exertion, no desperate effort could now obtain the vic- 
tory, and finally the king found that his troops, having been repeatedly driven 
back with frightful carnage, could no longer be led to the charge. Thirteen 
thousand of the best soldiers in Europe had been sacrificed by the change in 
the order of battle, and nothing remained but to retreat in good order, to raise 
the siege of Prague, and to retire speedily from Bohemia. 

Nothing appeared to be wanting to complete Frederic's misfortunes. The 
glory had departed from his arms ; his soldiers had ceased to confide in him 
as before ; his conduct was criticised, and his character made to suffer by 
detractors ; even his own brother William first complained of and then quar- 
relled with him. The inexorable king was greatly displeased ; he broke the 
heart of his brother by his reproaches ; and William retired from the army to 
expire in the following year at a country seat. He lost his mother, whom he 
loved with more affection than he was supposed to be capable of feeling, and 
the state of his affairs was such that his kingdom appeared irrecoverably lost. 
His allies, under the Duke of Cumberland, had just been captured at Closter- 
severn, leaving the French at liberty to turn their arms against him in Saxony ; 
his general Lehwald had been defeated in a desperate battle with 24,000 Prus- 
sians against 100,000 Russians under Apraxin, who was committing the most 
frightful devastations in Prussia ; twenty thousand Swedes had already entered 
Prussian Pomerania ; one Austrian army had entered Silesia and laid siege to 
Schweidnitz, while another, penetrating through Lusatia, passed the Prussian 
armies and laid Berlin itself under contribution. Frederic anticipated nothing 
short of his own ruin and the ruin of his family. He saw the whole exten< 
of his peril. His sleep was broken, his mind was agitated with a sense of im- 
pending misery and dishonour ; yet he resolved never to be taken alive, ant 
never to make peace on condition of descending from his place among the 
powers of Europe. If death were to be his fate, and nothing appeared more 



240 THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 

probable, he had chosen deliberately the mode of dying ; he carried a sure 
and speedy poison about with him in a small glass case. 

His resolution once taken, the great king was speedily in motion. He 
determined, though his army numbered but 22,000, to give battle to the united 
forces of the French and Austrians, 60,000 strong, under Soubise. At Rosbach, 
the king took post upon a height, w^here the enemy, curious to see whether or 
not he would have the courage to make a stand against them, advanced towards 
his camp. Their object was to surround him completely, and to put an end to 
the war at once by taking him prisoner. The Prussians fired not a single shot, 
but remained perfectly quiet, apparently unprepared for, or not taking any 
notice of the movements of the enemy; the smoke ascending from their cooking 
fires indicated their present occupation, while Frederic himself took his meal 
with the general officers and staff, with the appearance of the greatest coolness 
and indifference. At length, at half-past two in the afternoon, the favourable 
moment arrived ; Frederic issued his orders, the tents were struck, and the 
army formed in order of battle as if by magic, while the artillery opened a 
destructive fire, and Seidlitz with his cavalry dashed into the battalions of the 
enemy. The French were overwhelmed by the rapidity of action of the Ger- 
mans, and routed in less than half an hour, before they could be formed into 
line. Some of them fled to the middle states of the empire, others did not 
stop until they had placed the Rhine between themselves and the victors. 
Seven thousand prisoners remained in the hands^of the king, including nine 
generals and three hundred and twenty officers, together with sixty-three pieces 
of cannon and twenty-two standards. On this glorious day Frederic lost only 
one hundred and sixty-five killed and three hundred and fifty wounded. 

Charles of Lorraine with a mighty powder had taken possession of Silesia, 
whither Frederic now hastened. On the 5th of December, exactly one month 
after the day at Rosbach, he met that general near Leuthen, with thirty thou- 
sand men. The Austrians numbered sixty thousand, and in their plan of the 
battle extended their lines over a space of five miles ; Frederic hoped to make 
up the deficiency of his numbers by the celerity of his manoeuvres, and had 
again recourse to the oblique order of battle, and in four short hours his 
sagacity, tact, and courage obtained one of the most glorious victories 
recorded in history. On the battle-field Frederic conferred the dignity of 
Marshal upon the Prince of Dessau, who had led on the grand attack, in the 
following characteristic words: "Field-marshal, I congratulate you on the 
success of the battle." The darkness of the night saved the enemy from 
annihilation, but Frederic was determined to secure the fruits of this glorious 
day. In order to get possession of the bridge which crossed the Schweidnitz 
near Lissa, he selected Ziethen and a troop of hussars, and set out with a few 
guns on the road to that town. The party entered Lissa in perfect silence, but 
not unnoticed. Very soon a spirited fire was opened upon them by the Aus- 
trians in the houses, which the Prussians returned by discharges from their 
cannon. A scene of general confusion ensued, and Frederic, who knew the 
ground well, led his officers away to the mansion of the lord of the manor of 



F R E I) E K I C AT L I S S A. 



241 




FRSDKSIC AND THE ADSTRIAN OFFICERS AT LI": 



Lissa. At its entrance he was met by a number of Austrian officers of diSTerent 
ranks, who, roused from their supper by the firing, were looking after their 
horses and rushing with lights in their hands from the rooms and staircases. 
They were so petrified with astonishment at seeing the king and his adjutants 
dismount, that they could not take advantage of their numbers to obtain pos- 
session of his person. Frederic demanded a lodging, and the Austrian generals 
and the staff officers seized the lights and conducted the king up the staircase 
into one of the best rooms. Here they presented one another to him, and an 
agreeable conversation on general subjects ensued. In the mean time, Prus- 
sian officers continued to arrive in such numbers that Frederic at last asked 
in surprise where they all came from, and learned that his whole army was 
on its way to Lissa. The troops had silently and seriously broken up the 
camp, and each man marched forward, meditating on the events of the day. 
The cold night breeze swept along the fields, carrying with it the groans 
of the wounded and dying. Suddenly a grenadier set up the old German 
chant, '< Nun danket alle Gott," which was immediately taken up by the 
whole array, consisting of 25,000 men. The darkness and tranquillity of 
Vol. III. 31 X 



242 THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 

the night — the horrors of the battle-field, where at every step the foot trod upon 
a corpse — lent an awful degree of solemnity to the song ; and even the 
wounded forgot for a time their sufferings whilst taking part in this general act 
of thanksgiving. A new spirit of strength sustained the weary warriors, when 
on a sudden a loud and long-continued shout burst from every tongue on hear- 
ing the cannonade in Lissa, and each vied with the other as to w^ho should be 
the first to come to the aid of his sovereign. Well might Frederic exclaim that 
in the care of such troops the destinies of Prussia were safe. In the battle of 
Leuthen twenty-seven thousand Austrians were killed, wounded, or taken, 
fifty stand of colours, a hundred guns, and four thousand wagons fell into the 
hands of the king. Breslau opened its gates, Silesia was reconquered, and 
Charles of Lorraine retired to hide his confusion in Brussels. In one month, 
Frederic had extricated himself from his difficulties, with an exhibition of 
genius and energy unparalleled in the annals of the world. 

The English, whose councils were directed with consummate ability by 
William Pitt, now violated the convention of Clostersevern, and the Hanoverian 
army reappeared under a leader chosen by Frederic to co-operate with himself. 
Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. In 1758 the Count of Clermont opposed Fer- 
dinand with an army numbering more than three times that led by the prince, 
yet the latter not only forced him to retreat across the Rhine, but attacked him 
at Crefeld and put him to a total rout, causing him a loss of seven thousand 
slain. Ferdinand by this victory gained possession of Dusseldorf, and scoured 
the country to the very gates of Brussels. 

Soubise and the Duke of Broglio repaired in part the misfortunes of that 
day at Sunderkausen and at Lutzelberg, but in 1759, Brunswick, beaten by 
Broglio at Berghen, beat in turn the Marshal de Contade at Minden. On the 
latter field the superior genius of Ferdinand proved how truly Frederic had 
judged him when he chose him for a coadjutor in his astonishing designs. 
De Contade, contrary to all previous military practice, placed his cavalry in the 
centre, intending that his strange arrangement should operate to his advantage. 
Ferdinand's army was greatly inferior in point of numbers, but the steady 
coolness and bravery of the British and Hanoverian infantry answered his ex- 
pectations and secured him a triumph. They charged the ranks of the enemy's 
cavalry; the French, astounded at their daring, attempted to force their lines 
and gallop over them, but the ranks of bayonets were solid and invulnerable, 
the aim of the musketry sure, and the fire of the artillery destructive ; they 
were broken and forced to fly with precipitation. The victory would now have 
been completed but for the cowardice or treachery of Sackville,the commander 
of the British cavalry, who absolutely refused to follow up the advantage 
gained, and thus afforded the enemy time to collect their divided wings and 
make good their retreat. They lost however eight thousand men and thirty 
pieces of cannon, and Ferdinand was enabled by his success to recover all that 
he had lost. 

While Ferdinand thus kept the French in check, Frederic was, as usual, 
active in the field. After attempting against the Austrians some operations 



OPERATIONS OF FREDERIC THE GREAT. 243 

which led to no very important result, he marched against the Russians, who 
were committing the most barbarous devastations, sparing neither women nor 
children, the young nor the aged. The cities were laid in ashes and the 
country desolated. Frederic attacked the enemy, who numbered about 60,000, 
with a band of 37,000, on the field of Zorndorf, near Frankfort, on the Oder. 
This was one of the most sanguinary battles of the Seven Years' War, the 
combatants giving no quarter, fighting hand to hand for life or death, after the 
manner of the ancient Germans. The sight of the ravages committed by the 
Scythians had roused the Germans to vengeance, and the bodies of thirty thou- 
sand dead and dying which lay at nightfall on the bloody field proved how 
desperately the victory had been contested. Nineteen thousand of these were 
Russians. 

The enemy abandoned Prussia entirely and retreated into Poland, leaving 
Frederic at liberty to march to the assistance of his brother Henry, who was hard 
pressed by the Austrians. In the short space of three quarters of a year, Frederic 
had gained three great victories over the armies of France, of Austria, and of Rus- 
sia, and was now at the zenith of his military glory. He was speedily to expe- 
rience again the opposite extreme of fortune. Count Daun, the commander of 
the imperialists, was a general of an extremely cautious character ; but he was 
now united in command with Laudon, the most inventive and enterprising of 
the Austrians. Frederic relied too fearlessly upon the character of Daun, and 
was in consequence surprised and beaten at Hochkirch, with the loss of several 
of his best generals, nine thousand men, one hundred cannon, his camp, and 
all his baggage. Yet he showed himself as great after this serious loss as 
before ; Daun found himself baffled in his attempts to follow up his victory, 
and Frederic, in spite of all his efforts, succeeded in marching into Silesia. 
Having driven the Austrians from that province, he returned, compelled Daun 
to raise the sieges of Dresden and Leipsic, and even drove him into Bohemia. 
He passed the winter at Breslau, writing bad poetry and preparing for a fourth 
campaign. It proved the most disastrous of the whole war. At its commence- 
ment, the Austrians filled Saxony and menaced Berlin. The Russians, under 
Soltikoff', defeated the king's generals on the Oder, threatened Silesia, and 
effected a junction with Laudon. 

The most momentous dangers had thus accumulated round him. He saw 
no other alternative than marching in proper person to check the Russians. 
Summoning Prince Henry, he intrusted him with the command of the intrenched 
camp then occupied by the Prussian army at Schmottseifen, and, bidding him 
farewell, set out in person at the head of a considerable body of troops to attack 
General Soltikoff", who had intrenched himself strongly at Kunersdorf, on the 
Oder. The battle was fought on the 12th of August. In the early part of the 
day Frederic made every thing yield to his skill and the impetuosity of his 
troops. The lines were forced and half the Russian guns taken. The king 
sent off" a courier to Berlin to announce a victory, but in the mean time the 
defeated but stubborn and unbroken Russians had made a stand on an emi- 
nence where the Jews of Frankfort usually buried their dead. Here the battle 



244 



THE SEVEN YEARS' W A 1{. 




PARTING 07 FREDERIC II A. N D PRINCE HBNRT. 



was renewed, but the Prussians were again and again led to the attack in vain. 
Frederic headed three charges in person ; two horses were killed under him, 
and his life was only saved from a bullet which pierced his dress by the inter- 
vention of his gold snuff-box. The officers of his staff fell all around him, his 
infantry was driven back with frightful slaughter. The troops were seized 
with terror, and a terrific charge made by Laudon with his cavalry put the 
wavering lines to a total rout. Frederic himself escaped with the utmost diffi- 
culty to a ruined farm-house, where he threw himself on a heap of straw. His 
second despatch to Berlin was very different from the first: — "Let the royal 
family leave Berlin. Send the archives to Potsdam. The town may make 
terms with the enemy." But three thousand of his army remained together; 
all appeared lost, and the king resolved to end his life with his reign. But the 
Austrian and Russian generals were mutually jealous of each other, and instead 
of immediately following up their victory, they lost a few days in loitering and 
quarrelling, and the days of Frederic were worth the years of common men. 



OPERATIONS OF FREDERIC THE GEE AT, 245 

On the morning after the battle he collected eighteen thousand of his scattered 
troops, twelve thousand more were quickly added to the number, guns were 
procured from the neighbouring fortresses, Frederic had again an army, and 
Berlin once more was safe. Yet he continually received tidings of great cala- 
mities. One of his generals with a large body of troops was defeated at Maxen, 
a similar result attended a combat at Meissen, and when winter closed the 
campaign, the situation of Prussia could hardly have appeared more desperate. 

The only consolation afforded the king was the success of his favourite, 
Ferdinand of Brunswick, at Minden, and in the unwavering fidelity of the 
Prussians. They submitted with patience to the ravages of their merciless 
enemies, they murmured not when their king debased the coin, the civil func- 
tionaries went unpaid, they sustained their lives with rye bread and potatoes, 
and manufactured powder and balls. If a man was able to carry a musket, he 
shouldered it without reluctance to serve the king, and if he owned a horse he 
volunteered his services for the gun carriage or the baggage- wagon. Frederic 
was the idol of his soldiers, the delight and the pride of his people, the admired 
hero of all Germany. He himself openly thirsted for vengeance, and deter- 
mined to maintain the struggle so long as the means of sustaining and destroy- 
ing life remained. In 1760 he determined to protect Saxony himself, while 
Fouquet was to defend Silesia against the Austrians under Laudon, and the 
king's brother, Prince Henry, was to maintain Brandenburg against the Rus- 
sians. Laudon by his immense superiority completely overawed the army under 
Fouquet, and treated the people of the country with the utmost cruelty and 
severity. Frederic commanded his general to make an effort to rid them of 
this scourge, and Fouquet took post at Landshut, where, on the 23d of June, 
he was attacked by the enemy. He had but 8000 men ; the Austrians 30,000; 
yet, though attacked and surrounded on all sides, he bravely maintained the 
contest for eight hours, disputing every inch of ground. His horse was killed 
by a shot, and fell with his rider ; Fouquet must have been slain by the swords 
of the enemy but for the heroic self-devotion of his servant, who received in 
his own body the thrusts intended for his master. The Prussian cavalry cut 
their way through, but all the infantry were slain or made prisoners. 

Frederic endeavoured to obliterate this defeat by his own activity and 
boldness. He deceived Daun by simulated marches, and appeared suddenly 
before Dresden, one-third of which he reduced to ashes by his vigorous firing 
before the Austrian general could come to its relief. When that general came 
up he raised the siege, and marched to Silesia, where, through the treachery of 
one of his servants, an Italian, Frederic had lost the fortress of Glatz. Laudon 
had also laid siege to Breslau, but that city was gallantly defended by General 
Tauenzien until the arrival of Prince Henry. On his march Frederic was 
accompanied by Daun and General Lasci, one of whom marched on either side 
of him with an army, constantly fighting with light troops. The king at length 
reached Liegnitz,but was obliged to stop there, as Daun had formed a junction 
with Laudon and blocked up the passage to his magazines at Schweidnhz and 
Breslau. Prince Henry was engaged in watching the Russians on the Oder. 

x2 



246 THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 

His enemies were so near him that Frederic was obliged to change his quarters 
every night. During two years he had experienced continual calamity, but 
victory now again perched upon his banners. On the night before the 15th of 
August, he marched with his army to the heights of Puffendorf, leaving his old 
camp fires burning and some Prussian patrols there on duty. About two 
o'clock in the morning he w^as awakened by an officer in command of a patrol 
of hussars, who informed him that the enemy was at hand and scarcely a hun- 
dred yards from the camp. In a few minutes his officers were in the saddle, 
his army was drawn up in battle array, and his artillery was pouring destruction 
on the foe. This was the advance of the Austrian array, w^hich Laudon was 
leading to the heights of Puffi^ndorf, whence he intended to attack Frederic 
in the rear on the following day, whilst Daun should engage him on the other 
side. 

At daybreak the astonished Austrian found himself opposed to the whole 
Prussian army, yet he redoubled the ardour of his attack, hoping that Daun 
would hear the artillery and come to his support. The wund, however, was 
contrary ; Daun heard nothing. Laudon was defeated with a loss of four 
thousand killed, six thousand wounded, and eighty-two pieces of artillery. 
While he hastily retreated to Katzbach, Daun advanced against the king's army, 
and was received by General Ziethen at the head of the right wing of the 
Prussians with a very heavy discharge of artillery. As soon as he learned the 
fate of Laudon's detachment, Daun followed the example of that general. 
Within three hours after his retreat, Frederic, who now had an open road to 
his supplies at Breslau, was on the march, the captured cannon placed in the 
train of his artillery, the prisoners in the centre, and the w^ounded, friends and 
foes, in the wagons in the rear. 

The next battle in which the king engaged was that of Torgau, where, 
after a day of the most horrible carnage, he triumphed over Daun. In this 
battle, the king staked a great loss against a great gain, and had made up his 
mind to die should his perilous chance miscarry. By this victory he recon- 
quered the greater part of Saxony, and fixed his head-quarters for the winter 
at Leipsic. The fifth year had closed, and the event of the war still hung in 
the most painful suspense. The enemy had again occupied Berlin, plundered 
the royal palace, and levied contributions on the inhabitants. In the countries 
where the war had raged, the misery and exhaustion were more appalling than 
ever ; but still there were left men and beasts, arms and food, and still Frederic 
fought on. He struggled with various success but constant glory through the 
campaign of 1761 ; the result of which on the whole was disastrous to Prussia. 
The enemy gained no great battle, yet the king was continually more and more 
hemmed in. Laudon contrived to surprise the strong fortress of Schweidnitz, 
which gave him the command of half Silesia and the most important defiles in 
the mountains. In Pomerania, Frederic's generals had been overpoweretl by 
the Russians. The king himself confesses that he began to look around him 
in blank despair, unable to imagine where recruits, horses, or provisions were 
to be found. 



ACCESSION OF GEORGE III. 247 

The great success which had attended the administration of William Pitt 
in the colonial war with France in America and the East Indies, had made the 
English people weary of continental connections. But the unflinching minister 
regarded the continental war as his own war ; he declared that Hanover should 
be as dear to the English nation as any part of England itself, and that he 
would never make a peace of Utrecht, never for any object abandon an ally, 
even in the last extremity of distress. He therefore pushed the operations, of 
the British arms in every quarter of the globe with the greatest vigour. But 
the success which everywhere else attended the English standard, made the 
people still more impatient of the German war ; they complained of the inac- 
tivity of the navy, and asserted that the French islands in the West Indies, 
more valuable to them as a commercial people than half the German empire, 
might have been gained with far less risk and loss than attended the protection 
of the useless electorate of Hanover. 

In the midst of ^the dispute, George II. died suddenly, on the twenty-fifth 
of October, 1760. His grandson, George III., then in his twenty-third year, 
succeeded to the throne. This event caused a considerable change to take 
place in the policy of England, Pitt was strongly impressed with the policy 
of declaring war against Spain, and of supporting with vigour the operations 
on the continent, but was thwarted in his designs by the opposition of Lord 
Bute, the favourite of the new monarch. Loudly as the parliament advocated 
the cause of Frederic, who had been recognised by it under the names of the 
Great and Invincible, yet Lord Bute, anxious that England should enjoy the 
advantages of peace, destroyed a new treaty for an alliance between England 
and Prussia, and stopped the payment of all future subsidies. 

The death of Ferdinand VI. of Spain and the accession of Charles III. to 
that throne, was a more important event. The new monarch was inclined to 
depart from the peaceful policy of his predecessor, and he therefore signed the 
Family Compact, which bound the two branches of the Bourbon house to afford 
each other mutual assistance, and prepared to join in the war against England. 
Ineffectual negotiations were commenced soon after the accession of George 
III., but with little sincerity on either side. The campaign of 1761 was so 
languid, however, as to prove that all parties were tired of the war, and nego- 
tiations for peace were renewed. Spain, though desirous of a breach with 
England, feared her naval superiority too much to venture upon a maritime 
war, while she believed the Bourbon alliance to be also superior by land. 
She therefore attacked England through the side of her ally, the kingdom of 
Portugal ; but the troops of Joseph the First, aided by 8000 British and bd 
by the Count de la Lippe, drove the Spaniards from Portugal before the close 
of the campaign. The French had hoped that the diversion in Portugal would 
facilitate the progress of their arms in Germany ; but Ferdinand of Brunswick 
maintained Hanover and recovered the greater part of Hesse, whilst Frederic 
had again triumphed over the adverse circumstances with which we left him 
surrounded at the close of the campaign of 1761. Though deprived of his 
only friend by the retirement of Mr. Pitt, he found another in the Czar Peter III. 



248 



THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 







"WILLIAM STUART, BARL OF BUTK. 



of Russia, who at this crisis succeeded Elizabeth on the Russian throne. He 
was a warm admirer and devoted friend of the Prussian hero, and his accession 
produced an entire revolution in the politics of the North. He released the 
Prussian prisoners, clothed them and sent them back to their king, absolved 
from their engagements all those Prussians who had been compelled to swear 
fealty to Russia, concluded peace on terms favourable to Prussia, and sent 
fifteen thousand men to reinforce the shattered army of Frederic. 

The warrior of Brandenburg could once more indulge his thirst for ven- 
geance. He speedily repaired the losses of the preceding year, reconquered 
Silesia, defeated Daun at Buckersdorf, invested and retook Schweidnitz, and at 
the close of the year presented to the forces of Maria Theresa a front as formidable 
as before the great reverses of 1759. Before the end of the campaign, however, 
his friend, the Czar Peter III., was deposed by his wife, who usurped the throne 
with the title of Catharine II. Peter soon after died in prison, a supposed 



PEACE OF HUBERTS BURG. 249 

victim to violence. Catharine determined not to take further part in the war ; 
she withdrew her troops from Frederic, and remained neutral. Sweden had 
already concluded peace with Prussia. Bohemia was now invaded by the vic- 
torious king. Prague saw one division of his army at her gates, destroying her 
magazines, while the ashes of the unfortunate city of Egra, and the ravaged 
plains of Franconia and Suabia, bore witness to the zeal with which the other 
carried on the work of devastation. The princes of the empire hastened to 
conclude treaties of neutrality, and the war was left to be continued by Prussia 
and Austria alone. England and France had paired ofT together, and concluded 
a treaty by which they bound themselves to observe neutrality respecting the 
German war. Spain and Portugal were parties to this treaty — which was 
shameful for the French. They surrendered Nova Scotia, Canada and its 
dependencies, the island of Cape Breton, and all the other islands in the gulf 
and river of St. Lawrence. England also received or retained the island of 
Minorca and Fort St. Philip, Senegal in Africa, and the electorate of Hanover. 
Maria Theresa, not daring to hope that her own power could accomplish what 
the united forces of the German empire, Russia, and France had not effected, 
and finding herself menaced on the side of Hungary by the Porte, at length 
gave up the contest. 

The peace of Hubertsburg put an end to the Seven Years' War. The 
statesmen who represented Prussia at that negotiation would cede nothing, the 
king retained Silesia, which the whole continent in arms had failed to tear from 
his iron grasp. The war was over. Frederic was safe. He had given an 
example, unrivalled in history, of what capacity and resolution can effect 
against the greatest superiority of power and the utmost spite of fortune. After 
an absence of more than six years he entered Berlin in triumph, amid the loud 
praises and blessings of his people, who seemed to forget in the delight of 
victory the miseries which they had suffered from the war. These, however, 
had been frightful. The capital itself had been more than once plundered ; 
almost every province had been the seat of merciless war, waged by French 
and Germans, by hosts of Croatians in Silesia, by tens of thousands of Cossacks 
in Pomerania and Brandenburg. More than a hundred millions of dollars had 
been levied by the invaders, and they had destroyed property to a much greater 
amount. The fields lay uncultivated; the seed corn had been devoured, 
famine and contagion resulting from it had swept away the flocks and herds, 
and nearly fifteen thousand houses had been burned to the ground. 

During the war the population of the kingdom had decreased ten per cent., 
one-sixth of the males capable of bearing arms had perished on the battle-field. 
In some districts, none but women were to be found cultivating the soil ; in 
others the traveller passed shuddering through a succession of deserted villages. 
The currency had been debased ; the authority of laws and magistrates had been 
suspended ; the whole social system was deranged. It was hardly to be hoped 
that a whole age of peace and industry would repair the ruin which these seven 
years of war, military violence, and anarchy had produced. Yet there was one 
consolatory circumstance. No debt had been incurred. The burdens of the 
Vol. III. 32 



250 THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 

war had been terrible, almost insupportable ; but no arrear was left to embar- 
rass the finances in time of peace.* 

This severe and sanguinary war, however, had inculcated several great 
lessons, to which Europe was indebted for the tranquillity she enjoyed for 
nearly thirty years after the peace of Hubertsburg. Agitation in public affairs, 
suspicion, and jealousy, productive of so much hostility among states, were 
now at an end, and all were sincere in the conviction that the actual condition 
of affairs would be lasting. Fate had pronounced the decree that, however 
limited its sphere, the power of Prussia rested upon a sure and solid basis as 
long as it was guided and governed by united thought and action. An earnest, 
industrious, and warlike feeling, evinced both by king and people, justice and 
economy in the administration of affairs, a progressive spirit of research for all 
that the age brings with it and yields of the really good and noble — such were 
the means which enabled Frederic and his nation to maintain single-handed 
the war against the moiety of Europe. 

At this time, likewise, as on every former occasion when threatened with 
the danger of vicissitude, Austria indicated that her power was not so easily 
destroyed, that her rich and beautiful domains, the faithful adherence and co- 
operation of her inhabitants, their attachment to a mild and paternal govern- 
ment, nourished within themselves a germ of life, unchangeable and unsurpassed. 
The Hessians, the Hanoverians, and the troops of Lower Saxony evinced, when 
fighting against the French invaders, enduring perseverance and courage to 
such a degree as to add greatly to the glory of the German name. The fame 
of this war conduced especially to the honour of the Germans generally. The 
names of Frederic the Great and Ferdinand of Brunswick were proclaimed 
throughout the world as those of heroes who in the tumult of battle had shown 
superiority of mind, and had given undeniable proofs of that rapidity of thought 
which knows how to seize the immediate moment for action. With them was 
included the brother of the great king. Prince Henry, who appeared to have 
been united to the royal hero in order that he might repair his faults, and of 
whom Frederic himself said, "He is the only general throughout the entire war 
who committed no faults." He was the perfect model of what a prudent and 
wary general should be, knowing how to keep an enemy of far superior force 
m constant exercise, while at the same time, by well-laid plans, he adroitly 
maintained his own ground without exposing his little band to that destruction 
otherwise so inevitable. Finally in the list of heroic names, those of Ziethen 
and Seidlitz, who especially distinguished themselves at the head of the cavalry, 
appeared conspicuous with the rest. 

The heroic empress, Maria Theresa, who had been entirely indebted to 
her own mind for the preservation of her fortunes, could point with pride to 
the achievements of her troops. The conduct of the war had proved the 
Austrian generals to be unsurpassed in the art of selecting masterly posi- 
tions for an army, or of choosing the critical, well-timed moment for bring- 

* Macaulay. 



PEACE OF HUBERTSBURG. 



251 




MARIA. THERBSA. 



ing the guns to work with fatal and 
unerring effect. She could refer with 
a feeling of honourable pride to the 
great names of Brown, Laudon, Nadasti, 
Lasci, and others, as in after years they 
recalled the events of the war. But 
more than all, she could rejoice in the 
affection and enthusiasm of the nation 
over which she held sway, and which 
had preserved her from ruin only by the 
unshaken fidelity with which it had 
adhered to her. She had passed safely 
through the most dangerous vicissitudes, 
trusting wholly to the loyalty of her peo- 
ple, who though rude, turbulent, and 
impatient of tyranny, were faithful and 
valiant. She had not mistaken the cha- 
racter of her subjects, nor wanted the 
means for combatting any enemy, how- 
ever formidable. 
France gained but little honour in this war ; her feeble, unsystematic 
government had already shown that its administration was in the hands 
of women and their favourites, and hence it languished in mortal throes. 
One of the greatest French historians* thus suras up the history of the Seven 
Years' War. 

The defeat at Rosbach renewed at Crevelt — great reverses, balanced by 
trifling advantages — the total ruin of the French navy and of the French colo- 
nies — the English masters of the seas and conquerors of India — the weakness, 
the humiliation of all Old Europe before Young Prussia — this is the Seven 
Years' War-. France, nevertheless, did not lose so much by the peace of Paris, 
which was signed five days previous to that of Hubertsburg, as might have 
been expected after the success of the English at sea; but this peace was 
brought about by the not over-sagacious statesman, the Earl of Bute, while 
Pitt, on the contrary, when presiding at the head of the administration, had in 
the course of the war made manifest in the most brilliant manner what extra- 
ordinary energy dwelt in the English nation, and which only waited for the 
proper motive fb be brought into full operation.! 

The most striking feature in the history of the Seven Years' War, is the 
heroism and generalship of Frederick the Great. After maintaining the struggle 
for six years, his affairs seemed utterly desperate. Maria Theresa was so cer- 
tain of the crowning success of the next year, that she considered it perfectly 
advisable to disband 20,000 of her army ; a step rendered in some measure 
advisable by the extremely exhausted state of her exchequer. Frederic's con- 



* Michelet. — Modern History. 



f Kohlrausch. 



252 



THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR. 



victions were, at that moment, of the same kind; but with the cahnness of 
intrepidity he looked the future in the face, determined on doing naught which 
might compromise his own dignity. In his cahnness and elevated composure, 
he raised his mind above the present, and exahed himself above the petty rela- 
tions in which he was placed. He commemorated in poetry the heroism of the 
Emperor Otho, who sacrificed himself to prevent his subjects from being anni- 
hilated beneath the sword of the conqueror ; he eulogized Cato of Utica, who, 
as a free Roman citizen, resigned his life rather than submit to be false to 
himself and grace in chains the triumphant chariot of a tyrant. With such 
memorials of the past he steeled his resolution to wait the last decisive moment. 
The war had now terminated gloriously for him, and his undaunted heroism 
had met its reward.* 

* Kugler. 



-.->^'t::s 





CHAPTER XIII, 



^xtm f^oe iPeacf oJ iiasi^ t® t'^s ^vsntfj iEefccIwti^n. 



HE French nation had suffered most by the Seven 
Years' War ; the finances had long been in a dis- 
tressed condition, and the disgraceful luxury of the 
court required an expenditure which aggravated the 
national distress. The king was the slave of his 
appetites and the tool of those who ministered 
to them ; under their control he sanctioned the most 
glaring acts of tyranny and rapacity, and connived 
at the grossest abuses. Each year the expenditure 
had exceeded the revenue by many millions, and 
the taxes, which the war had prodigiously augmented, underwent no reduction 
on the restoration of peace. A general parliamentary effort was made through- 
out the kingdom to obtain some alleviation of the public burdens, several of 
the parliaments refused to register the edicts for the continuance of the war- 
taxes, and others remonstrated in a tone of censure to which the French 
monarchs had long been unaccustomed. 

Louis had been obliged to give up the Jesuits to the parliaments, their 

AT- (253) 




254 



POPE CLEMENT XIV. 



deadly enemies. Besides the legislative bodies, the philosophers and the 
people were all arrayed against this body, by their intolerance, their ambition, 
and their intrigues. While these parties lay in wait for an opportunity to deal 
them a fatal blow, it was afforded by the bankruptcy of the Jesuit Lavallette, 
who failed for several millions. The society was summoned to be answerable 
for his deficiencies, but refused, and offered nothing more than prayers to the 
victims of the insolvency. The parliaments thundered forth decrees against the 
members of the order, who defended themselves feebly. A convention of 
bishops supported the Jesuits, but the parliament relaxed none of their opposi- 
tion ; the Duke of Choiseul, the prime-minister, vigorously supported the 
magistrates, and Louis sacrificed the Jesuit order to his own repose. By an 
edict issued in 1764, the order was suppressed throughout the kingdom, leave 
being given the members to reside in France as private individuals. All the Bour- 
bon courts declared about the same time against this famous society. They were 
expelled first from Portugal, where several of its members had been accomplices 
in the assassination of King Joseph, and successively driven from Spain, Naples, 
and Parma. 

The total extinction of the order was 
vehemently solicited at Rome by the Duke de 
Choiseul. Clement XIII., then pope, refused 
the desired brief, but it was accorded in 1771 
by the famous Ganganelli, otherwise Pope 
Clement XIV., who thus destroyed the firmest 
support of the papal pretensions. So exten- 
sive was this hostility of the Catholic powers 
to the pontifical jurisdiction, that when Cle- 
ment XIII. made an effort to support the 
ancient pretensions of the See, he found him- 
self opposed to all the Italian states except the 
kingdom of Sardinia, to the remonstrances of 
Spain and Portugal, and the active hostility 
of France. These fatal disputes with the 
Catholic princes served only to exhibit to con- 
tempt the imbecility of his spiritual authority, 
and his designs only exposed himself and his 
He died in 1769, and it required all the con- 
ciliatory efforts of his successor to calm the irritation which his injudicious 
violence had excited among the powers of Europe. Lorenzo Ganganelli, who 
seated himself in the chair of St. Peter at this critical juncture, was eminently 
qualified for allaying the ferment which his imprudent predecessor had pro- 
voked. His wise and moderate conduct soon healed all the divisions of the 
Roman Catholic Church. Regular but unostentatious in all the exercises of 
devotion ; simple and unaffected in his manners; intellectual and philosophical 
in his tastes ; humanity and temperance were the favourite virtues of this cele- 
brated pontiff. He had cultivated them in the cell of a monastery ; they did 




POl'E OLBMBNT XIV. OANGA.- 



N E L I, I . 



dignity to cruel humiliations. 



P A L I. 255 

not forsake him on his throne ; and they deserve the place which the chisel of 
Canova has assigned them on his tomb. He proscribed the Jesuits with reluc- 
tance, not from any affection which he bore them, but from personal apprehen- 
sion of their vengeance. According to the able historian from whom we have 
taken the sketch of his character, this solitary weakness hastened him to the 
grave. After the act of suppression, he was haunted by perpetual fear of 
poison; his frame sank under the horrors of a diseased imagination, and he 
died of the effects of terror acting upon a constitution already enfeebled by 
study and application to business. (A. D. 1774.) He was himself persuaded 
that he had been poisoned by the Jesuits ; the death of Louis XV., which hap- 
pened in the same year, was also imputed to them by popular hatred, and the 
Catholic princes everywhere proscribed them. Two non-Catholic sovereigns, 
Frederic the Great and Catharine of Russia, were the only ones who offered 
asylum and protection to the society in their dominions. It is notorious, how- 
ever, that Louis XV. died of the small-pox, and the charge against the Jesuits 
of having poisoned Ganganelli, was contradicted by the report of his physicians, 
and seems to have been wholly groundless.* 

The Genoese, by their exorbitant treatment of the people of Corsica, had 
driven them to revolt. Headed by popular leaders, the Corsicans drove their 
oppressors from the island, and the Genoese had recourse for aid to the Empe- 
ror Charles VL (A. D. 1730.) The Austrians filled Corsica with flames and 
bloodshed, but they failed to subdue the stubborn courage of the islanders. 
The Emperor recalled them, but the Genoese continued, by arms, by negotia- 
tions, and by perfidy, to recover their authority. The. islanders became more 
and more exasperated, and the struggle proceeded for many years, until the 
celebrated Pascal Paoli appeared at the head of his countrymen. He wanted 
neither courage nor enlightened views to qualify him for his arduous situation. 
Genoa received aid from France, and afterwards convinced of the hopelessness 
of recovering the dominion of their revolted colony, ceded their claims of 
sovereignty to Louis XV. The French monarch accepted the acquisition as an 
indemnity for immense sums which he had lent to the Genoese, and caused 
himself to be proclaimed King of Corsica. Paoli fought like a hero against 
this usurpation, and Louis was obliged to expend much of the blood and trea- 
sure of his subjects in maintaining it. At the end of two campaigns his troops 
were driven into the maritime fortresses. But the French were determined to 
reduce the island, and the debarkation of a powerful army decided the contest. 
The timid, the wavering, and the disaffected deserted the cause of their country, 
the Corsicans generally took the oath of allegiance, and when the superiority 
of his enemies rendered resistance impossible, Paoli retired to England, fol- 
lowed by the admiration of Europe. 

Choiseul, finding his influence with Louis XV. declining, sought to 
strengthen it by effecting a marriage between the king's grandson and heir and 
Marie Antoinette, daughter of the empress-dowager of Germany. An accidental 

* Procter. De Bonnechose. 



256 



RUSSIA AND POLAND. 



but great destruction of life which happened at the time of the nuptials in Paris, 
caused the union to be regarded as ill-omened. The minister, however, by 
involving the king in the quarrels with the parliaments, brought about his own 
disgrace, and the administration was given to the Duke d'Aiguillon. The 
king consented to abandon the new forms of jurisdiction which were proposed, 
and to allow the old courts to resume their functions. This change in the 
councils was unfortunate and dishonourable. It was well known that the 
Duke de Choiseul owed his disgrace to the intrigues of Madame du Barri, the 
king's profligate mistress, and whatever may have been his faults, he certainly 
would never have permitted the influence of his country to sink so low as it 
did during the administration of his successor. 

While France was thus declin- 
ing, the empire of Russia was ra- 
pidly acquiring a preponderating 
influence in Eastern Europe. The 
Empress Catharine procured the 
throne of Poland for one of her 
favourites, Stanislaus Poniatowski, 
under the title of Stanislaus Au- 
gustus, (A. D. 1765,) having sent 
a Russian army to overawe the diet 
when it assembled to choose a 
sovereign. From this interference 
of Russia in the election of a Polish 
king began the sufferings of Po- 
land, the greatest, the boldest, and 
the most terrible violation of the 
law of nations and the most sacred 
rights of man, the more revolting 
from the abuse of the forms of jus- 
tice and the words of peace. Poland had been agitated by discords between 
the dissidents, who were in part Protestants, in part Greek churchmen, and the 
Roman Catholics. The former availed themselves of the influence of Russia, 
on the ground that they had lost since the death of Sigismund II. their ancient 
rights, and had been deprived by the diets of 1717 and 1733 of the free exer- 
cise of their religion. Catharine II. readily exerted herself in their behalf, and 
caused them to be reinstated in their religious liberty. 

Religious zeal, national hatred, and party spirit disturbed the peace of the 
kingdom, the malcontents formed a confederacy in Podolia, and a furious war 
broke out, in which, after great desolation, the confederates succumbed to the 
power of the Russians and the king. They fled into the Turkish territory, 
which was also ravaged by fire and sword. War between the Porte and the 
Empress was the natural consequence, and hostilities continued for six years, 
exhibiting unsuccessful valour on the part of the Turks, and formidable power 
and persevering boldness on that of Russia. (1768 — 1774.) During its *:on 




OATHA-RINE II. 



DISMEMBERMENT OF POLAND. 257 

tinuance, Stanislaus was forced to join with Catharine against the Turks, 
ahhough he knew that the sultan, Mustapha III., had taken up arms chiefly to 
defend the independence of Poland, But the German Emperor, Joseph, began 
to dread the ambition of Russia, and his mother, Maria Theresa, made over- 
tures of friendship to her old rival, Frederic, as a counterpoise to the increasing 
power of the Czarina. 

Denmark and Sweden, had they been able to withdraw their attention 
from their internal affairs, would have adopted a similar course of policy. In 
Denmark, however, the jealousy of his stepmother caused the dethronement of 
King Christian V., a prince of weak intellect and dissipated habits. He had 
married Caroline Matilda, a sister of the Queen of England, and that princess, 
with the aid of Struensee, an adventurer whom she had caused to be made 
prime-minister, maintained an ascendency over the mind of her husband. Her 
influence caused jealousy in the breast of the queen-dowager, who had Struen- 
see and his friend Brandt arrested and put to a cruel death, drove the queen 
Caroline to Hanover, and usurped the supreme authority. The court of Den- 
mark, under her administration, was remarkable for its subserviency to that of 
St. Petersburgh.* Gustavus III. had ascended the Swedish throne on the 
death of his father, Adolphus Frederic, in 1771. By his vigour and sagacity, 
he effected a bloodless revolution, which changed Sweden from one of the most 
limited to one of the most absolute monarchies of Europe. Dread of a counter- 
revolution, and the necessity of providing some remedy for the distress which 
prevailed in Sweden, prevented Gustavus from interfering in the affairs of 
Poland.* 

Meanwhile the disorder in Poland had reached its height ; the intestine 
rage of parties was associated with the terror of the Russian and Turkish arms. 
Stanislaus wished to confer tranquillity and good government on his kingdom, 
but he could do nothing. He was rather himself exposed to the rage of his 
enemies. He was seized in Warsaw itself by a band of conspirators, and car- 
ried off, November 3, 1771 ; his deliverance seemed almost a miracle. At the 
same time Austria took possession of some districts of Poland bordering on 
Hungary, on account of some pretensions that had no connection with present 
relations. 

These occurrences suggested either to Frederic or to Catharine, perhaps 
to both, a scheme for accommodating the threatened contest between the rival 
powers, by dismembering Poland. The first threads of the web of policy in 
which Poland was involved to its ruin, are unknown. Neither Frederic nor 
Catharine needed to be instructed how to plunder the defenceless, and neither 
of them attempted to palliate or disavow their violence. But Austria has sought 
to escape reproach by adducing, as an apology, the constraint which she had 
experienced from the two other powers, and the impossibility of preventing the 
division which was resolved upon otherwise than by a difficult war. Neither 
Joseph nor his minister, Prince Kaunitz, however, ever having in view the 

* Taylor. 
Vol. III. 33 y 2 



258 JOHN WILKES. 

elevation of the Austrian power, needed these grounds to make them accede. 
While the negotiations about the division were going on, the troops of 
Austria and Prussia occupied the countries best situated for them, the former 
" in order to protect those parts of Poland which are connected by the ties of 
friendship ^vith Hungary on account of ancient relations, from the political 
storms of the present time," the latter "in order to establish a cordon for the 
protection of the Prussian dominions against the plague, which was raging in 
Poland." This occupation w^as accompanied by many brutal acts on the part 
of the Prussians, while the troops of Catharine conducted with the same fero- 
city in the provinces which they invaded. The Austrians maintained some 
discipline, the humanity of the Empress and the policy of the Emperor com- 
bining to prevent devastation. 

The three powers quickly came to an agreement about their respective 
shares in the plunder. In conformity to a convention signed between them at 
Berlin and St. Petersburgh, 1772, all three powers issued manifestoes, in which 
they demanded of the King of Poland the cession of certain territories, and 
designated changes in the interior of the kingdom. Stanislaus resolutely 
refused, and the grief and indignation of the people produced an energetic 
expression of opposition at the diet. But the menace of the powers to divide 
all Poland if their demands were refused, dispirited the resisting, and the king 
and diet were forced to subscribe to the hard law of the robbers. The cessions 
altogether amounted to the third part of Poland, and embraced nearly one half 
its population. The diet was not only obliged to cede these territories, but 
also to promise to protect the three powers in the possession of them. The 
constitution of the state also underwent changes according to the despotic 
order of the foreign potentates. A permanent council of state was established, 
which was chosen by the nobility, and which was so fettered as to insure its 
servile devotion to the three powers. The unhappy Stanislaus, reproachecf for 
calamities he could not avert, retorted on his accusers, attributing the national 
misfortunes to the bigotry, the factious spirit, and the incessant contentions of 
the turbulent nobles. 

Since the accession of the Brunswick family to the throne of England in 
1715, the government had been chiefly conducted by the Whig party. Wal- 
pole, Pelham, Newcastle, and Pitt had all ruled through the support of this 
great body, who, till a considerable time after the rebellion of 1745, seem to 
have had the support of the more influential portion of the people. After that 
period, however, a division appears to have grown up betM^een the government 
and the people, which broke out in a violent manner under the administration 
of the Earl of Bute, prime-minister and favourite of George III. That nobleman 
was driven from the ministry by a storm of abuse raised by his enemies in par- 
liament and through the newspapers, among the people. (April, 1763.) 
George Grenville succeeded Bute, and commenced his career by prosecuting 
John Wilkes, member of parliament for Aylesbury and editor of a paper called 
the North Briton, for a libel contained in the forty-fifth number of his paper, in 
which he had directly accused the king of falsehood. The king's messenger 



JOHN WILKES. 



259 



arrested him on a general warrant against the editor, printers and publishers 
of the North Briton, and he was committed to the Tower ; but Chief Justice 
Pratt first released him on the ground that he was a member of parliament, and 
afterwards decided that general warrants were inconsistent with the laws of 
England. Wilkes prosecuted the secretary of state for illegal seizure, and the 
trial terminated in a verdict of damages. The administration of Grenville is 
also remarkable for the passage of the celebrated Stamp Act, which gave the 
first great impetus to the struggle for independence of the colonies in North 
America. A succeeding Wliig administration repealed the stamp act, but was 
speedily displaced by a third ministry, in which William Pitt, now created 
Earl of Chatham, held a conspicuous place. This ministry passed a bill for a 
duty on teas, glass, and colours imported into the colonies, which also the 
Americans spiritedly resisted. (A. D. 1767.) 

In 1768, a new administration was formed 
under the Duke of Grafton, one of Pitt's pupils. 
A new parliament being soon after called, Wilkes, 
who had seen fit to retire to the continent, reap- 
peared in England, though a sentence of outlawry 
still stood against him. He ventured to become 
a candidate for Middlesex, where he was returned 
to parliament by a large majority. Having pre- 
viously surrendered to the jurisdiction of the 
King's Bench, his outlawry was reversed, but he 
was sentenced to a fine and two years' imprison- 
ment. He himself made no resistance to the 
execution of this sentence, but the populace 
forcibly rescued him from the hands of the officers 
who had arrested him, and a riot ensued, in which an innocent young man 
was killed. During his imprisonment, Wilkes was formally expelled the House 
of Commons, on the pretext that he was disqualified from holding any office 
by the vote of censure passed by a preceding parliament. This decision 
created much indignation among all classes of the people, who identified 
Wilkes with their liberty. The county of Middlesex returned Mr. Wilkes four 
times, but the House accepted the rival candidate. Colonel Luttrell, notwith- 
standing he had but one-fourth of the votes. The popularity of the cause of 
Wilkes was so great as to produce constant tumults, the cry of Wilkes and 
Liberty resounded on every hand, the municipal bodies and corporations 
remonstrated with the king on the high hand with which his business was con- 
ducted, and the agitation was still further increased by the publication of a 
series of letters, written in a forcible and elegant style, by an unknown author 
who styled himself Junius, and who animadverted in the most virulent manner 
on both the men and the measures of government. 

The administration of the Duke of Grafton was succeeded in 1770 by that 
of Lord North, the first that was wholly composed of Tories. From this time 
until the close of the reign of George IV., the affiiirs of state were almost 




JOHN WILKES. 



260 LORD NORTH'S ADMINISTRATION. 

exclusively in the hands of the Tory party. The agitation which had been 
excited in the public mind by the supposed injury to the cause of free elections, 
subsided when the king and his cabinet adopted the resolution to wear out the 
public fervour by dignified silence, taking no notice of the attacks and remon- 
strances addressed to them. Lord North was induced by the complaints of 
the Americans to make many concessions to them, and finally removed all the 
taxes except that on tea ; but the principle of the right to impose taxes lurked 
under his concessions, and this it was, and not the taxes themselves, of which 
they complained. The British government now framed several obnoxious 
statutes, which imbittered the colonists and led them to open resistance. 
Force was resorted to by the ministry to compel them to their allegiance, and 
the war of independence was begun. The details of that war will be found 
in a subsequent chapter. It is enough here to observe that at the end of seven 
years, notwithstanding every disadvantage and many defeats, America was 
triumphant, and her three millions of people were acknowledged as free men by 
the parent state. During the war, France, Spain, and Holland gave their aid to 
the Americans against the British, and Russia put herself at the head of what 
was called an Armed Neutrality, which embraced Denmark, Sweden, Venice, and 
Portugal, and the policy of which was adopted by the courts of Vienna, Berlin, 
and Naples. In the year 1779, so great was the force with which Great Britain 
had to contend, that it required about three hundred thousand armed men, 
three hundred armed vessels, and twenty millions of pounds annually, merely 
to protect herself from her enemies. Her naval superiority seemed to have 
deserted her, and for some time the people beheld the unwonted spectacle of a 
hostile fleet riding in the channel, which there was no adequate means of 
opposing. In India also the British power was forced to bend before the arms 
of the native chieftain, Hyder Ali, and the humiliating treaty which was con- 
cluded with his son Tippoo greatly diminished the influence heretofore pos- 
sessed by the English name in the East. 

Lord North was unwilling to put an end to the war, but in 1782 he found 
that he had no longer a majority in parliament. He therefore resigned, and a 
new administration was formed from the Opposition. The new ministers lost 
no time in taking measures for the restoration of peace, while they vigorously 
continued the war. The death of the Marquis of Rockingham, however, dis- 
solved the cabinet, and while the delay which the formation of a new ministry 
under the Earl of Shelburne occasioned, protracted the negotiations for peace, 
two signal triumphs shed lustre on the arms of Britain. Admiral Rodney 
gained a decisive victory over the French fleet under the Count de Grasse, 
between the islands of Martinique and Guadaloupe. The Spaniards had fought 
with unexpected power. In America they conquered the English fortresses on 
the Mississippi, as well as Pensacola and all Florida. (1782.) In Europe 
they succeeded in conquering Minorca. But all their eflforts against Gibraltar, 
which the British had held ever since they conquered it in 1704, during the 
war of the Spanish succession, were fruitless. The valiant commandant, Elliot, 
repulsed gloriously all the attacks of the combined Spanish and French forces. 



LONDON RIOTS. 261 

At this time he immortalized himself especially, destroying by showers of red- 
hot balls the floating batteries which the Bourbons had fitted out against him 
at great expense, and with so strong hope that they believed them invincible. 

These triumphs in some measure retrieved the national honour, and 
enabled the British ministers to conclude the war upon tolerable terms. The 
respect entertained for the English name on the continent had been diminished 
less by the reverses which attended her arms than by the famous anti-popery 
riots. In the year 1778, an act had been passed relieving the Roman Catholics 
in England from some of the severe penal statutes formerly enacted against 
them. The apprehension of a similar act for Scotland caused the people of 
that country to form an immense number of associations for the purpose of 
opposing it and protecting the Protestant religion. The ignorant fanatics who 
established these institutions stimulated the passions of the mob, and roused 
immense multitudes to acts of outrage. Several alarming riots occurred in the 
early part of 1779 at Edinburgh and Glasgow, during which one or two Catholic 
chapels, and some houses belonging to Catholics, were pillaged and burnt. 

In England an extensive Protestant association was also formed in order 
to procure the repeal of the English act ; a body which was chiefly led by 
Lord George Gordon, a son of the late Duke of Gordon and member of the 
House of Commons. In June, 1780, an immense mob assembled to escort 
Lord George to the House of Commons, where he was to present a petition 
against the act signed by 120,000 persons. His motion for the repeal of the 
act being rejected by a vast majority, he came out and addressed the crowd in 
the most violent language, suggesting to them outrages similar to those which 
had occurred in Scotland. Terrific riots ensued ; during five days the mob 
had uncontrolled possession of the streets, prisons were broken open, and the 
Catholic chapels in the metropolis as well as various dwelling-houses were 
destroyed. The king in counsel determined to authorize the military to put 
them down by force of arms, and after four hundred were killed and wounded, 
tranquillity was restored. Many of the ringleaders were convicted and 
executed ; Lord George Gordon was tried for high-treason, and acquitted on a 
plea of insanity, which his subsequent life showed to be well founded. The 
king gained credit for the firmness he had shown in suppressing the outrages, 
but they alienated the court of Madrid when it was disposed to negotiate, and 
added Spain to the number of England's enemies. 

In Germany, after the death of Maria Theresa, Joseph II. strove to effect 
great changes, to transform ancient into modern institutions, and to devote the 
great and predominating powder which he possessed towards remodelling the 
entire condition of his states. He would probably have engaged in the pro- 
secution of these schemes before the death of his mother, but for the short and 
unimportant war of the Bavarian succession, a contest between Prussia and 
Austria, in which Frederic arrayed himself against the Emperor on account of 
the seizure of two-thirds of Bavaria, at the time of the Elector Maximilian's 
death. This war being ended in 1779, and Maria Theresa having died in 
1780, Joseph was at liberty to bring into execution his great plans. He desired 



262 DEATH OF FREDERIC THE GREAT. 

to give to the various nations under his sway one unique and equal form of 
government, after a model of his own. But he undertook to effect what was 
often ahogether unsuited to the genius of his subjects, and encroached upon 
their dearest privileges. The greatest obstacles thrown in the way of his 
innovations, however, proceeded from the church, owing to his object of 
confiscating numerous monasteries, and changing the ecclesiastical constitu- 
tion. The princes of the empire, too, found themselves attacked in their 
rights, and did not hesitate to complain loudly ; and when in 1785 Joseph 
negotiated a treaty for an exchange of territory with the electoral prince pala- 
tine of Bavaria, by which the whole south of Germany would have come into 
the possession of Austria, Frederic the Great and the Empress Catharine stepped 
forward and disconcerted their plans. Frederic then established an alliance 
of the German princes for the preservation of the imperial constitution. This 
league was formed in 1785 between Prussia, Saxony, Hanover, the Dukes 
of Saxony, Brunswick, Mecklenburg, and Deux-Ponts, the Landgrave of Hesse, 
and several other princes, and they were soon joined by the Elector of Mentz. 
The alliance, however, produced few important results, owing to the death of 
the King of Prussia, which happened in Potsdam, August 17, 1786. He con- 
tinued active and enterprising to the last, in spite of his advanced age, but his 
condition gradually became more and more isolated, being without a family 
and having seen all his companions sink before him into the tomb. His mind 
retained all its power during seventy-four years, though his body was reduced 
and enfeebled. He left to his successor a well-regulated state, containing a 
population of six millions of inhabitants ; a powerful, strictly-organized army, 
and a treasury well provided. The greatest treasure he left, however, was the 
recollection of his heroic and glorious acts, which will long continue to 
operate upon his nation with awakening power and heart-stirring influence.* 

The disadvantageous peace made in 1774 between Russia and the Porte, 
put a stop to the war for a time, but their arms were scarcely laid aside before 
the clouds of new hostilities began to gather. The ambitious Joseph concluded 
an alliance with Catharine, and the cabinets of Austria and Russia united in 
pressing the Porte with harder demands. An internal revolution in the Crimea 
gave the Empress Catharine an opportunity of seizing upon that country, which 
she immediately embraced. The Turks took up arms, the forces of Austria 
and Russia marched to the frontiers, but the plague broke out in Turkey, and 
the mediation of France brought about new treaties, whereby Catharine was 
secured in her unjust acquisitions. (A. D. 1784.) New provocations, how- 
ever, still kept hatred alive, and finally kindled open war. Considering a con- 
test inevitable, the Turks determined to get the start of the Empress, and 
surprised her by declaring war, though they were ill-prepared themselves. 
The campaigns of 1777 and 1778 passed without remarkable results. The 
Porte urged Austria to remain neutral, but Joseph, dreaming of brilliant con- 
quests, remembered only his former alliance with Catharine. The war, how- 

* Kohlrausch. 



CATHARINE II. OF RUSSIA. 265 

ever, did not produce the results he had anticipated. His fine army suffered 
considerable losses, both from the Turks, who fought with unexpected courage, 
and from sickness, and although the Emperor commanded in person, his troops 
effected nothing, for he was wholly destitute of firmness and presence of mind, 
the first qualifications for a successful general. He became ill and returned to 
Vienna, leaving the command of his forces to Laudon, under whose direction 
affairs were somewhat improved. The Austrians gained several victories, took 
Belgrade, Turkish Gradiska and Orsova, and conquered parts of Servia and 
Wallachia. 

At the same time victory crowned the Russian arms. They reduced, in 
1789, Gallacz, Ackierman, and Bender, and, in the following year, Kilianova 
and Ismail. The latter fortress was stormed and taken by the able and cruel 
Russian general, Suwarrow. Prussia, Great Britain, and Holland early mani- 
fested their apprehension at the success of the arms of the two empires ; but 
Sweden concluded a treaty oi subsidies with the Porte, and, calculating upon 
a division of forces, boldly attacked her colossal neighbour. Prussia also con- 
cluded an alliance with the Porte, and her armies began to make hostile move- 
ments. Austria therefore expressed her willingness to put an end to the war, 
and, after much delay, a treaty was concluded at Szistowe, August 4, 1791, 
by which the Emperor obtained Old Orsova and a considerable portion of the 
neighbouring territory, and the Porte received back Belgrade and the other 
Austrian conquests. 

The mighty Catharine II. disdained to receive the law of the powers who 
interposed their unwelcome mediation. She released herself from her difficul- 
ties with Sweden by an equitable peace, August, 1790, and continued the 
bloody war against the Porte with her usual vigour. With all the weakness of 
her sex, and with a love of pleasure carried to licentiousness, she combined 
the firmness and talent of a powerful sovereign. Two passions were predomi- 
nant with her until her death, love and ambition. She was never without her 
favourite, who, by the manner in which she distinguished him, and by the 
valuable presents she gave him, was publicly designated as such. She never, 
however, lost sight of her dignity. She was distinguished for activity, never 
absent from her cabinet, and never an uninterested listener when there. She 
was always willing to bear too great a share rather than to neglect any portion 
of the responsibilities of her government. She wrote a philosophical letter to 
Voltaire, worked with her ministers, and signed an order to attack the Turks 
or to occupy Poland, in the same hour. She favoured distinguished authors, 
particularly those of France, at whose metropolis she had a literary agent. By 
her attentions to Voltaire, D'Alembert, Diderot, and others, she gained the 
favour of the literati of Europe, who called her the greatest of rulers, a title to 
which she was not without claims. She protected commerce, improved the 
laws, dug canals, and founded towns, hospitals, and colleges. Pallas and 
others travelled at her expense. She endeavoured to put a stop to the abuses 
which had crept into the different departments of the government, but was 
unable to complete her reforms. Civilization advanced slowly in Russia under 
Vol. III. 34 Z 



266 DISMEMBERMENT OF POLAND. 

her reign, and her anxiety to enlighten her subjects ceased when she began to 
entertain the idea that the French Revolution had been caused by the progress 
of enlightenment.* 

According to her own dictation, she made peace with the Turks at Jassy, 
January 9, 1792, gaining Oczakow with its territory, and obtaining the Dneister 
for her boundary. Thus all the wars undertaken against Russia had been 
so turned by the able management of Catharine as continually to augment the 
political preponderance of Russia. Her influence in Poland was equal to 
absolute dominion. When that republic in 1791 wished with the concurrence 
of Prussia to change its constitution, Catharine took part with the opponents, 
and concluded a confederation against the form of government adopted by the 
diet. Prussia abandoned the unfortunate Poles, and in 1793 consented to 
another partition, by which Russia received 96,500 square miles and 3,000,000 
inhabitants, and Prussia 22,500 square miles and 1,136,000 inhabitants. The 
members of the diet were compelled by the fear of Russian bayonets to acquiesce 
in this new dismemberment of their country, and the remnant of Poland was 
placed under the guardianship of Russia. There were patriots in the oppressed 
country, however, who determined not to give up their national independence 
without a struggle. These formed a confederacy at Cracow, in March, 1794, 
and, led on by Kosciusko in the holy contest, they liberated Warsaw and 
Wilna. The battle of Raclawice, April 4, 1794, and the relief of Warsaw, 
which was besieged by a Prussian army, September 5th and 6th, 1794, are the 
most glorious days in the history of Poland. But it was now too late ; Poland, 
if saved at all, could only be rescued by the sword of Kosciusko. His fall 
decided the fate of his country. He was overpowered at Macziewice, October 
10, defeated, wounded, and taken prisoner by the Russians ; Praga was 
stormed by the cruel Suwarrow, and all the inhabitants put to the sword. 
Without fortresses, discipline, allies, or arms, surrounded by enemies, Russia, 
Prussia, and Austria, the convulsive efforts of national despair were unavailing. 
In October, 1795, the whole country was divided between Russia, Prussia, and 
Austria ; the last king was taken to St. Petersburg, w^here he was allowed a 
pension until his death in 1798, and the Poles retained nothing but wounded 
feelings of national pride, a bitter hatred of Russians and Germans, and the 
unaiding pity and cold sympathy of the world. 

During these occurrences, Catharine could not pay much attention to the 
troubles of the French. She broke off all connection, however, with the French 
republic, and actively assi^ed the emigrants and exiles from that country. She 
also made war upon Persia, and appears to have entertained the project of 
destroying the English power in Asia, when death put an end to her reign, 
November 9, 1796. 

Her old ally, Joseph 11. , had died before the close of the Turkish war. 
On his return in bad health from his campaign against the Turks, he found his 
attention drawn to Hungary by a general rebellion in that country, where his 

* Encyc. Americana. Tooke's Life of Catharine IL 



JOSEPH II. OF AUSTRIA. 



267 



measures for the amelioration of the people had been misrepresented and 
abused. Finding his efforts at reform unsuccessful, he issued from his death- 
bed an edict, re-establishing the constitution of the kingdom and the adminis- 
tration of justice on the same footing as at the death of Maria Theresa, with 
but two exceptions, which prove conclusively the noble, philanthropic spirit 
which actuated him. These were an edict requiring religious tolerance, and 
another restricting the rights of lords over their serfs and tenants. This act 
tranquillized Hungary, but a more serious rebellion broke out in the Nether- 
lands ; the Belgians aimed at independence, drove out all the Austrian 
governors, and formed a new constitution. Joseph attempted to reduce them 
to allegiance, but, worn out with mental and bodily anguish, he breathed his 
last on the 21st of February, 1790, leaving to his brother, Leopold II., his 
hereditary states. This prince was soon after chosen to succeed Joseph in the 
imperial dignity also, and though dissatisfaction, contention, and sedition 
everywhere abounded, he succeeded by his happy disposition in adopting 
measures so moderate and conciliatory, as to enable him to steer the vessel of 
state safely through the tempest. He abolished such of the innovations of 
Joseph as had proved dangerous, pacified Hungary, tranquillized the Nether- 
lands, and ended the war with the Turks. He died, however, on the 1st of 
March, 1792, ending his short reign of two years at the moment of the com- 
mencement of a new and eventful era in the history of Europe, an era of 
intrigue, anarchy, and outrage, the events of which we come next to trace. 




Jt'lGl.ISH COSinMKS OF TUB 'ilUJSS OF yOJCiCJM ANMB,, GJaOKGlC 1 AND '.iEOSGa II. 



^^.E-i^-. 




CHAPTER XIV. 



®|ie Jpijiucfj MiefciGiIiiaitien. 



THE exertions which Louis XIV, made 
to encourao:e a taste for literature amouo; 
all classes of the French people, and to 
cause a general diffusion of knowledge, 
have justly been classed among the 
causes of the Revolution. He thereby 
made the French a thinking people, 
and gave to intellect an impulse which 
went on increasing, now quietly and 
slowly, and again with greater rapidity 
and show. In the days of the Grand 
Monarch himself, many spirited writers 
had begun to enlighten the people. 
Then came Montesquieu, whose able 
work '< On the Spirit of Laws," not 
well understood or appreciated by his contemporaries, was nevertheless valuable 
for a future generation as a magazine of true political wisdom, and well- 
examined principles of liberty. Soon after him appeared the schools of Ency- 
clopedists and Economists, both composed of men of genius and adroitness, 
who, in one case, combated all errors and prejudices, and sometimes whole- 
some truths, with all the powers of reason, and, in the other, with noble 
enthusiasm for public good, were the decided enemies of all injustice and 
tyranny. They were both, however, influenced by the spirit of system, and 
were often more fanciful, more brilliant than profound. These societies taught 

(268) 




ROUSSEAU AND VOLTAIRE. 269 

the nation to judge boldly upon both ecclesiastical and political affairs, and to 
long for civil as well as religious freedom. 

Singularly blind to the consequences of these expositions of right and 
wrong, these free discussions on political subjects, the constituted authorities 
made no effort to curb inquiries which, general in terms or made with reference 
to other states, appeared to have no bearing on the tranquillity of the kingdom. 
They felt secure in the support of the nobles and the army, and though they 
would have rewarded the author of a direct attack on the monarchy with a 
place in the Bastile, they took no alarm from general disquisitions ; the young 
nobility not unfrequently taking part in the discussions. The supreme powers 
deemed themselves above danger, and slept, securely dreaming of the tranquil- 
lity of the state, while the people were awaking to active thought on the social 
contract, on the manners and spirit of nations, on the causes of the evils under 
which they had so long groaned, and on the nature of the remedy. 

It was the fashion of the day, even in court circles, to praise the worth 
and genius of the writings of two men whose powers were wholly given to 
inflame and pervert the public mind — Voltaire and Rousseau. Heartless, 
unprincipled, shrewd, and cunning, Voltaire was in all respects fitted for this 
task. Possessing a universal acquaintance with society, unbounded wit, a 
manner of reasoning which was marked by brilliancy without depth, he better 
than any other could denounce the priesthood for avarice and negligence, 
expose the vices of royalty and nobility, and arouse the people to redress the 
grievances which the ambition and the wars of their rulers had imposed upon 
them. It is to be regretted that his sublime and clear spirit wanted the higher 
consecration which is conferred by virtue alone, that his unrestrained intellect 
spurned the distinctions between truth and falsehood, and substituted sophistry 
for sense. 

The great rival of Voltaire, Rousseau, the lewd and eccentric, equally 
contributed to hurry on the crisis. By his eloquence he turned the brains of 
the half of France, and his praise hung in the circles of the court, where he 
was regarded as the apostle of liberty. In politics he would bring about repub- 
licanism, in ethics he would introduce universal license into society, subverting 
the established bases of order, substituting the cant of instinct and sen- 
sibility for a religious faith grounded on the convictions of reason. 

It was not by their applause only that the higher classes aided these agents 
in the w^ork of innovation ; their vices furnished food for sarcasm and declama- 
tion. The corruptions of the licentious judiciary served to excite popular 
indignation, and the enormous salaries paid to crown officers who performed 
no duties contrasted badly with the miserable subsistence obtained by the 
labouring poor. The peasantry, living in dark, comfortless, unfurnished 
houses, clothed in rags, and often destitute of food, were the victims besides 
of the pleasures of the nobility. Destructive game was permitted to roam at 
large, the preservation of the objects of the chase was made to interfere with 
the most necessary operations of husbandry, the ordinary transactions of busi- 

z2 



270 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 




LOUIS XVI." 



ness were taxed, the roads were repaired by compulsory services, and the 
starving people groaned under the pressure of unequalled feudal severity.* 

The distinctions of caste were rigidly maintained by the clergy ; plebeians, 
however talented, were rigidly excluded from all dignities, a circumstance 
which insured the co-operation of the humbler clergy in the commencement of 
the revolution. No better order pervaded the affairs of the army, and Ihe 
masses of the military establishment of the country were almost ripe for defec- 
tion when the commencement of the war for American independence was 
announced. The enthusiasm which had been inspired by the writings of the 
" apostles of liberty," was immediately merged into sympathy for those who 
were shedding their blood for freedom ; the youth of the country burned to 
wash out the stains left upon the escutcheon of France at the peace of 1763. 
Lafayette set the example, and it was followed by many Frenchmen of distin- 
guished families. The king too committed a great mistake in supporting the 
Americans ; the troops he sent to their aid, mixing with the independent free- 
men of our country, imbibed their principles ; in that immortal contest they 
learned patriotic lessons which, on their return to France, they hastened to 
impart to their countrymen. 

Louis XVL ascended the throne on the 11th of May, 1774, at the age of 
twenty. He was characterized by purity of manners and generous intentions, 
but wanted resolution and perseverance. He found the finances disordered, 



* iShoberl. 



MAUREP AS, TURCOT, AND NECKER. 271 

the authority of the crown despised, the people impatient of abuses and clamor- 
ous for an extension of their privileges, and the classes already privileged 
determinedly opposed to reform. By selecting as his adviser the aged Maure- 
pas, Louis only added to the difficulties of his position, for the minister was 
not on good terms with the queen, who was a young, lively, and amiable Aus- 
trian princess, and who possessed a complete ascendency over her husband. 
Already the king commenced vacillating, giving way now to Maurepas and 
again to the queen. The minister recalled the old parliaments, but failed to 
make them subservient to purposes of useful reform. The public voice greatly 
applauded Turgot; and Maurepas admitted him to the council, and placed the 
finances under his control. In the following year, the council was opened to 
Malesherbes, who seconded Turgot in his operations, and to whom was con- 
fided the charge of all lettres de cachet^ or mandates issued for the apprehension 
of suspected individuals. Louis himself had made some reforms when he 
ascended the throne, and Turgot resolved to proceed further in the good work. 
He sought the happiness of the people, and devoted himself to the suppression 
of servitude and of exclusive privileges, Malesherbes said of him that he had 
the head of Bacon and the heart of L'Hopital. He determined to make the 
nobles contribute to the taxes in the same proportion as the tiers etat, the third 
branch or commonalty of the French estates, and sought by means of provincial 
assemblies to accustom the nation to the discussion of the public interests, and 
prepare it for the return of the states-general. He combined with the aid of 
Malesherbes a system of administration that would have restored unanimity to 
France, by the destruction of all abuses ; and promulgated, in this spirit, edicts 
which replaced the forced services performed by the peasant or tenant on the 
highways by a contribution equally levied upon all ; proclaimed a free trade in 
grain, and abolished commercial wardenships and corporations. The privileged 
bodies at once broke out into murmurs and complaints ; the parliaments refused 
to register these wise edicts, and a Bed of Justice became necessary to compel 
them. The philosophers and economists however triumphed ; but a powerful 
league was formed at court, under the auspices of the queen, against the 
reforming ministers. Maurepas, jealous of the popularity of Turgot and his 
ascendency over the king, entered into the league, and alarmed the king by 
representations of the dangerous tendency of the new system. Malesherbes 
noticing a revolution at work in the mind of the monarch, resigned, but the 
brave Turgot resolutely awaited his disgrace. Louis had said of him, " Turgot 
and I are the only ones who truly love the people," yet he dismissed him. 
Clugny, and after him Taboureau, replaced in turn that great minister, with 
equal ill-success. 

In 1777, the finances fell under the control of Necker, a Genoese banker, 
a man of strict integrity and high capacity. He took probity and good faith 
for the basis of his system, and so high was the opinion formed of him by the 
capitalists, that he possessed the entire confidence of those who could lend 
money to the government. He put the country in a condition to support the 
war in which the king engaged in support of the Americans, a war which 



272 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

exercised a great influence on the destinies of France by accelerating the intel- 
lectual movement, and advancing the progress of liberal ideas. During this 
war the majority of the French ministry was composed of men remarkable for 
their worth and talents ; M. de Vergennes made the nation respected abroad, 
De Segur and De Castries pushed the war with great activity, and the great 
genius of Necker furnished the means of carrying it on. The budget of this 
minister, produced in the month of January, 1781, exhibited for the first time 
an excess of ten millions in the receipts over the expenditure. It created a 
profound sensation, and the public hailed it with a degree of approbation that 
inspired old Maurepas with jealousy. He found himself forgotten in the chorus 
of praise offered to a minister whom he looked upon as his creature, and 
pointed out to the king a lurking danger in the public discussion of the acts 
of his government, excited by the financial statement of Necker. From that 
moment, all this statesman's plans were received with disfavour ; the council 
opposed them, and the privileged classes struggled against his useful reforms. 
He still, however, by the sole authority of his own great name, contrived to 
complete two loans, amounting together to ninety millions. But he speedily 
felt that the confidence of the sovereign was withdrawn from him, and he gave 
in his resignation, which was accepted May 23, 1781. He left funds enough 
in the treasury to complete the decisive campaign of that year, and his retire- 
ment was mourned as a public calamity.* 

The Dutch stadtholder had become a monarch in all but the name, and the 
success of the Americans in establishing an independent government induced 
many of the inhabitants of the Netherlands to aim at the restoration of their old 
republican constitution. The French, who were greatly indebted to the repub- 
lican party, seconded their designs, but Frederic William of Prussia and the 
ambassadors of England resolved to support the Prince of Orange. An insult 
offered to the Princess of Orange, who was the sister of the King of Prussia, 
brought matters to a crisis, the French abandoned the republicans, and the 
stadtholder was restored to all his original authority. 

The disordered state of the finances was the cause of this desertion of their 
party by the ministers of Louis ; Maurepas had died shortly after the resignation 
of Necker, and the popular ministers were succeeded by ministerial courtiers. 
The system of the administration was changed, reforms were abandoned, and 
abuses and disorders revived. Joly de Fleury and D'Ormesson had in turn 
succeeded Necker, but the finances grew more and more disordered ; and 
Calonne was called to direct them, by the unwise partiality of the queen. This 
brilliant and eloquent man, reinarkable alike for levity of mind and daring of 
character, pursued a system directly the reverse of that of Necker. Having 
exhausted the expedient of loans, and finding the expenditure exceed the 
income by an enormous amount, the minister was obliged to resort to taxation ; 
but the privileged classes refused all sacrifice, and the people were exhausted. 
Calonne therefore summoned an assembly of notables, A. D. 1787, hoping that 

* Bonnechose. 



CALONNE AND BRIENNE. 273 

such an assembly, chosen by government from among the upper classes, would 
prove more tractable than the parliaments or states-general. The assembly 
was composed of distinguished members of the nobility, clergy, and magistracy, 
the chief popular gentry and philosophers, a composition by means of which 
Calonne flattered himself he should be able to carry his point. He charged 
the embarrassment of the exchequer upon Necker, who brilliantly defended 
himself, and demonstrated the inadequacy of the proposed measures to remedy 
the decline of public credit. When it became known that in a few years the 
Joans had amounted to one thousand six hundred and forty millions, and that 
there was a deficit in the revenue of one hundred and forty-six millions, there 
arose a universal outcry, and Calonne resigned his place and quitted the 
kingdom. 

The king refused to reinstate Necker, but gave the charge of the state to 
Lomt-nie de Brienne, Archbishop of Sens, a man of weak character but not 
destitute of boldness. He had been the opponent of Calonne, but now adhered 
mainly to the measures of that minister. The notables proved very intractable, 
however, consenting to a few of the proposed measures and then separating. 
Deprived of their support, Brienne proposed a stamp duty and a tax of eighty 
millions. These edicts the parliaments refused to register ; and though it had 
before assumed the right to sanction taxes, it now admitted that it had not the 
power to grant imposts, but that the states-general alone could establish them. 
The registration was, however, peremptorily commanded in a Bed of Justice 
held at Versailles ; and in the same session the enjoyment of their ancient rights 
was restored to the Protestants ; and Louis XVI. promised the annual publica- 
tion of a financial statement, and the convocation of the states-general within 
five years. The magistrates, on their return to Paris, protested against the 
violence which had been done to them, and the edicts remained unexecuted. 
The parliament was exiled to Troyes on the 15th of August, but an apparent 
reconciliation was effected, and it was recalled in little more than a month. 
It was expected that they would give their assent to an edict authorizing the 
creation of gradual and successive taxes to the amount of four hundred and 
forty millions, which the premier proposed, and which the king, appearing at 
the session in person, demanded. But the parliament protested against it, the 
counsellors Freteau and Sabatier and the Duke of Orleans setting the example. 
They were exiled, but the parliament protested against leltres de cachet and 
demanded the recall of its members. 

Under these circumstances Brienne determined to destroy the political 
authority of the magistracy ; but his scheme was betrayed to the parliament 
before his preparations were completed, and read to the indignant magistrates. 
They demanded the regular convocation of the states-general, protested against 
arbitrary arrests, and asserted their own inviolability. Brienne immediately 
obtained the king's order for the arrest of D'Epremenil and Montsabert, two 
of the magistrates whose opposition was the most violent. On the 5th of May 
the captain of the guard presented himself before the parliament, and claimed 
them in the king's name. The members exclaimed, "We are all Montsaberts 
Vjl. III. 35 



274 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

and D'Epremenils ;" but these two counsellors, to avoid compromising their 
colleagues, rose and avowed themselves. The tumult was at its height, the 
populace accompanying the magistrates and hailing them with shouts of 
applause. Three days afterwards the king in a Bed of Justice caused the 
edicts to be registered, abrogating entirely the constitution of the parliaments, 
restricting the jurisdiction and number of them, instituting sovereign courts of 
justice, instead of the suppressed parliaments, and transmitting, in fine, all the 
political rights exercised until then by these bodies, particularly that of register- 
ing the royal ordinances, to a plenary court, (cour pleni^re,) which was to 
consist of the princes of the blood, the peers, and a number of the first func- 
tionaries of state. 

The public mind, however, was inflamed, the chatelet issued a decree 
against the edicts, the parliament of Rennes declared all who should belong to 
the plenary court infamous, sanguinary riots broke out in Dauphiny, Brittany, 
Provence, Flanders, Languedoc, and Beam, and the provincial states and all 
orders of the kingdom declared against the minister. Annoyed by the higher 
orders, the court resolved to summon the tiers etat to its aid, and then urged 
the convocation of the states-general. It ordered investigations respecting the 
mode of their assembling, it called upon writers and learned bodies to give 
their opinions, and whilst the assembled clergy declared that a speedy convo- 
cation was desirable, the court, accepting the challenge, suspended at the same 
time the meeting of the plenary court, and fixed the opening of the states- 
general for the 1st of May, 1789. 

Brienne then retired from the ministry, leaving the exchequer in distress, 
the payment of the rentes of the Hotel deVille suspended, all the authorities in 
hostility, all the provinces in arms. He retired to Rome, after advising the 
king to recall Necker to his councils. The ajdvice was followed ; Necker re- 
turned to the administration, and the people broke out into savage expressions 
of joy. Necker commanded the confidence of the public as before, and was 
able to raise sufficient funds to carry on the government until the meeting of 
the states-general. On the 27th of September the parliament registered the 
edict by which they were convoked, and decided that the same forms should 
be observed on the convocation which had been followed at their last meeting, 
in 1614. At this period the number of deputies was equal in each order. 
Their deliberations were separately conducted by individual vote in different 
chambers, in which the clergy, the nobles, and the tiers Uat respectively assem- 
bled. The three estates then met in common, to deliberate together and vote 
by their collective orders. The result of the votes so managed was always, of 
necessity, favourable to the privileged orders. But Necker designed to make 
the latter contribute to the expenses of the state in proportion to their fortunes ; 
and to this end it was necessary that the number of the third estate should be 
doubled and the definitive resolutions taken by individual vote. The popular 
opinion was almost unanimously in favour of this change, and as the parlia- 
ment had shown itself opposed to it by the vote of September 27, it lost much 
of the favour with which it had been regarded by the public. WTaile the court 



FIRST DAY OF THE REVOLUTION. 275 

was thus revenged upon the parliament, it was in great doubt which side of the 
question to embrace. Meanwhile a multitude of pamphlets, among others one 
by the Abbe Sieyes, entitled " What is the third estate V heightened the agita- 
tion of the public mind. At length the king convened the second assembly 
of notables, and submitted to them the question as to the convocation of the 
states-general. The majority of the notables voted that an equal number of 
representatives should be sent by the respective classes. Necker disputed this 
decision, and at his suggestion the king promulgated on the 27th of December 
a declaration called "The Result of the Council," in which it was decided that 
the deputies to the tiers etat should equal in number the deputies of the two 
other orders combined, but left unsettled the mode of voting. From that day 
the Revolution commenced. The tiers Hat felt its own strength, reckoned 
reasonably on the defection of a portion of the nobles and clergy, and saw 
clearly that it would be master of the forms of deliberation. 

The philosophers of the age had chiefly contributed to this result. The 
most illustrious of them were dead, but their school still flourished, and, while 
labouring unceasingly at the destruction of abuses and privileges, it sapped the 
monument of ancient institutions. Literature, the sciences, the arts, the drama, 
all numbered many celebrated names ; among them some of the greatest bene- 
factors of humanity. The professors of literature, science, and philosophy 
were admitted to the society of the great ; the great laboured to become adepts 
in all the walks of knowledge. At no period had the manners of the higher 
and enlightened classes been more refined. French politesse, so vaunted 
throughout Europe, then made the great charm of social life, and had attained 
a noble and graceful perfection. But, all this time, a gulf was forming, dug 
by the vices of the government and the deficit in the treasury, beneath the feet 
of that brilliant society. Behind it pressed a middle class, humiliated and dis- 
contented, whose voice was not loud enough to drown the deep murmur of a 
multitude stagnating in ignorance and misery. From that direction soon came 
the storm ; a furious whirlwind shook the edifice already mined to its founda- 
tions; and the whole disappeared before the irresistible breath of the popular 
tempest. 

On the 5th of May, 1789, the first day of the Revolution, the states-general 
assembled at Versailles, the three estates numbering respectively as follows : — 
the clergy 293, the nobles 270, and the commons 565, two more than the 
others united. The deputies were introduced and arranged according to the 
order established in the last convocation, in 1614. The clergy sat on the right, 
the nobles on the left, the commons in front of the throne. The entry of the 
popular leaders was followed by loud applause from a brilliant assembly of 
spectators in the galleries, Necker being particularly distinguished. Last of all 
the king came, and placed himself on the throne amid the loudest applause, 
whilst at the same time the three orders arose and covered themselves. In the 
olden time, the third estate remained uncovered, and spoke only on their knees; 
this first aspiring movement was ominous of the subsequent conduct of that 
body. But 1789 was not 1614; two centuries had intervened. 



276 THEFRENCHREVOLUTION. 

The first and most important question to be settled was whether the votes 
should be taken individually or by orders. In the latter case the deputies of 
the tiers elat would lose the advantage which their number gave them. The 
court and the majority of the nobles and clergy attached the utmost importance 
to procuring a decision that the votes should be taken by orders on all political 
questions. But many popular dissentients were included among the nobility 
and the clergy. The portion inclined towards the opinions of the deputies of 
the third estate, displayed on the present occasion immovable patience and 
unshaken firmness. For nearly two months aflfairs stood in this position, the 
commons insisting that the three orders should sit and vote together, and the 
majority of the nobles and clergy resisting; all in the face of the mob of Paris 
and the people of France. The king and his council could not make up their 
minds upon the matter. The inner cabinet, in which the queen and the princes 
of the blood held sway, was for resisting the pretensions of the third estate, 
and, relying upon the army, would have dismissed the states-general as soon 
as they had granted a few taxes. Necker and the ostensible ministers were 
inclined to compromise with the tiers etat while their power was not yet proved 
by experience, nor their pretensions raised by victory. The premier also 
informed Louis that he did not think the army could be relied on ; and that 
he ought to make up his mind to reign hereafter under a constitution like that 
of England. Fierce disputes and endless consultations ensued, and though, 
three weeks after the opening of the legislature, Necker had obtained the assent 
of the king and queen to a declaration which would have been acceptable to 
the popular party, yet the influence of the royal consort was exerted to have its 
promulgation postponed, and a whole month was wasted in idle discussion. 

Meanwhile nearly one half the nobles and clergy had joined the deputies 
of the commons, and the tiers ifat, by the advice of the Abbe Sieyes, consti- 
tuted themselves, June 17, a National Assembly, an important resolution, 
which was immediately followed by acts of supremacy. They proclaimed the 
indivisibility of the legislative power, voted the provisional levy of taxes so 
long as they should be sitting, and their entire cessation in case they should be 
dissolved, consolidated the public debt, and appointed a committee of supply. 
They acquired by these acts an ascendency which alarmed the minds of the 
dominant party of the court, under whose influence Louis announced his inten- 
tion to hold a royal sitting, for the purpose of interposing his power, annulling 
the decrees of the assembly, and prescribing the reforms which should be under- 
taken by the states-general. 

Under pretext of the preparations required for the occasion, the hall of 
the states was meantime closed. When, on the 20th of June, the commons 
presented themselves at the hall of its sittings, they found it closed. The de- 
signs of the court were no longer doubtful, and the indignant deputies resolved 
to thwart their execution. They repaired to the tennis court at Versailles, and 
there, despite of the will of the king and the dangers which menaced them, the 
deputies of the nation bound themselves to accomplish the reform by a solemn 
oath. By this the members bound themselves never to separate, and to meet 



OATH OF THE TENNIS COURT. 



277 




REPLY OF MISABEAU TO THE MAHi^nlsi DE BREZB. 



wherever circumstances should require, until the constitution of the kingdom 
and the regeneration of the public order should be established and consolidated 
upon firm foundations. The modest and firm Bailly, president of the assembly, 
read the oath in the presence of an immense crowd of spectators ; all arms were 
raised towardsheaven, and the united deputies, in tones which were heard above the 
thundering applause of those around, responded, "We swear it." This step 
was followed by an important accession of strength. On the 22d, finding that 
the princes had hired the tennis court for the purpose of excluding them, they 
met in the church of St. Louis, where 148 of the clergy came to participate in 
their patriotic deeds and share their dangers. They were received with trans- 
ports of joy by the commons, who thus acquired a decided preponderance. 

The royal session was held on the 23d of June, Necker, full of fear and 
sorrow, excusing himself from being present. The king, who was surrounded 
by his guards, made some concessions, but announced his pleasure that the 
three estates should meet and vote in their separate chambers as they had done 
in 1614, and threatened them with vengeance if they resisted. The members 
of the nobility and clergy who were present obeyed as soon as the king had 
departed, but the commons retained their seats. The chancellor ordered the 

2A 



278 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

deputies to withdraw to their separate chamber. Mirabeau rose and said, 
'< Gentlemen, I admit the concessions made by the king would be sufficient for 
the public good if the presents of despotism were not always dangerous. What 
is the insolent dictatorship to which you are subjected? Is this display of 
arms, this violation of the national sanctuary the fitting accompaniment of a 
boon to the people ? Who prescribes these rules ? Your mandatory, he who 
should receive your commands instead of giving them to you. The liberty of 
deliberation is destroyed, a military force surrounds the Assembly. I propose 
that, proceeding with becoming dignity, you act up to your oath, and refuse to 
separate until you have completed the constitution." Then turning to the 
master of the ceremonies, the Marquis de Breze, who awaited the result of his 
command to the Assembly to leave the hall, he said, " Tell your master that 
we are here by the order of the people, and that we will not be expelled but 
at the point of the bayonet." Then Sieyes, addressing his colleagues, coolly 
said, "You are to-day what you were yesterday. Let us enter upon our 
deliberations." The Assembly persisted in its resolutions ; and on the motion 
of Mirabeau, added one asserting the inviolability of its members. The ma- 
jority of the members of the clergy sat again in the assembly, on its next meet- 
ing, forty-seven of the nobility, including the Duke of Orleans, soon after 
imitated the example, and on the 27th of June the three orders united, the 
deliberations became general, the nobles and clergy were lost in the overwhelm- 
ing majority of their opponents, and to say all in a word, the royal authority 
was lost. 

The counsellors of Louis XVL now persuaded him to have recourse to 
force ; great numbers of troops were collected round Versailles, Necker was 
dismissed, and unpopular ministers appointed. The approach of the troops 
and the exile of Necker produced a fermentation in Paris ; a young man 
zealous for freedom, Camille Desmoulins, harangued the populace ; the busts 
of Necker and the Duke of Orleans were paraded through Paris ; the colonel 
of the royal German corps attempted to charge the mob, but desisted when he 
found the French guards take the part of the people ; and the tumult and 
disorder became universal. The barriers were fired and many houses pillaged, 
and the greatest evils were only averted by the firm, active, and prudent conduct 
of the electors. The National Assembly, having vainly attempted a reconcilia- 
tion with the court party, took the direction of the government into its own 
possession, and declared itself permanent. The Archbishop of Vienne pre- 
sided over it, and Lafayette was elected Vice-President. 

The populace of Paris, inflamed by the hostile attitude of the court and 
the energetic proceedings of the Assembly, determined to pursue its advantages, 
and demanded arms. The committee of electors sitting at the Hotel d5 Ville 
organized the National Guard, which they increased to forty-eight thousand 
men, giving them the tri-coloured cockade, its colours being those of the arms 
of the city of Paris. Each district had its battalion. Fifty thousand pikes 
were forged, the arsenal of the Invalids was pillaged, and the universal cry of 
the populace was " To the Bastile!" The siege of that fortress was undertaken; 



CAPTURE OF THE BASTILE. 



279 




CAPTURE OP THE BASl'ILE. 



and the French guards, coming with cannon to the aid of the people, decided 
its capture. (July 14, 1789.) The weak garrison laid down their arms, but 
the governor, Delaunay, and several of his soldiers were unable to escape from 
the fury of the multitude. They were put to death, and the populace returned 
in triumph to the Hotel de Ville, bearing the bloody trophies of their victoiy. 
A letter found on Delaunay involved M. de Flesselles, Mayor of Paris, in a 
charge of treason. The first impulse of the populace was to massacre him, but 
they subsequently ordered that he should be arraigned before them. He was 



280 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

assassinated, however, by a pistol-shot. The popular effervescence was at its 
height ; Paris prepared herself for a battle, and the entire city wore the aspect 
of one vast camp. The king, infatuated by the reports transmitted by his 
military commanders, and surrounded by an impetuous and inconsiderate 
nobility, saw in this movement of the metropolis nothing more than a mere 
riot. He proposed to dissolve the Assembly, and to restore tranquillity by 
causing the Marshal Broglio to move on the capital with an overwhelming 
military force. The firing of the cannon at the Bastile was distinctly heard by 
him at Versailles, and as he scorned the idea that the fortress could be captured, 
he regarded this attack upon it as a sign that the irresolution of the troops was 
at an end. But in the night intelligence was received at Versailles of the true 
state of affairs ; that the Bastile was taken ; Paris in insurrection ; the Guards 
siding with the enemies of the court, and the regiments of the line sullen and 
inactive. The assembly, which had constantly sat for the two preceding days, 
was violently agitated by the news from Paris ; it w-as proposed to send a 
deputation to the king to urge him to remove the troops from the city. " No," 
said Clermont Tonnere, " let us leave them this night to take counsel ; it is 
well that kings, like private men, should learn by experience." The Duke de 
Liancourt took upon himself the painful duty of acquainting the king with the 
events which had occurred, and proceeded in the middle of the night to his 
chamber for that purpose. <<This is an insurrection," said the king after a 
long silence. '< No, sire," replied the great citizen, <« it is a revolution." 
The universal defection of the troops had rendered resistance hopeless ; the 
firmness of Louis gave w^ay before the gravity of circumstances, and he resolved 
upon submission. On the following morning he appeared in the midst of the 
Assembly, without guards or suite, accompanied only by his two brothers. He 
was received by the assembly with silence, with that profound silence which 
Mirabeau had affirmed to be a lesson for kings. His address was brief but 
forcible. At its conclusion he said, "I am now come alone into the midst of 
you ; I declare myself for ever united with the nation, and, relying on the 
fidelity of the National Assembly, I have given orders to remove the troops 
from Versailles and Paris ; and I invite you to make my dispositions known to 
the capital." 

The Assembly now broke forth into acclamations, and, rising, conducted 
the king back to his palace. A deputation was sent to Paris and produced a 
calm there; Bailly was named mayor of the city, and Lafayette commander of 
the armed force. The king set out on the 17th to visit Paris, on whose affec- 
tions his sole reliance was now placed. A large part of the National Assembly 
accompanied him on foot ; the cortege was swelled on the road by an immense 
concourse of peasants, many of whom were armed with scythes and bludgeons, 
which gave it a grotesque and revolutionary appearance. He was received by 
Bailly and Lafayette. "Sire," said the former, as he presented to him the 
keys of the city, '< I bring your majesty the same keys which were presented 
to Henry IV. That king conquered back his people; but here, tlie people 
have conquered back their king." Louis advanced to the Hotel de Ville 



EMIGRATION OF THE NOBILITY. 281 

through the midst of above one hundred thousand armed men, under an arch 
formed of crossed sabres. The whole of the immense crowd bore tri-colour 
cockades, now assumed as the national colours. Few cries of Vive la Roi 
met the ears of the unfortunate monarch ; those of Vive la Nation were much 
more numerous ; but when he appeared at the window of the Hotel de Ville, 
with the tri-coloured cockade on his breast, thunders of applause rent the air, 
and he was reconducted to Versailles amidst the most tumultuous expressions 
of public attachment.* 

The day of the king's entry into Paris was the first of the emigration of the 
nobility. The Count d'Artois, the Prince of Conde, the Prince of Conti, and 
the Polignac family set the example of leaving France. It was followed by 
great numbers, and Louis remained without defence, without counsel in the 
roaring storm. 

The National Assembly had now usurped the whole legislative power, and 
undertaken to draw up a new constitution. Their charter, which commenced 
with a Declaration of the Rights of Man, contained principles erroneous in 
themselves and subversive of all order. Such was the ardour of their revolu- 
tionary enthusiasm, that they abolished, without discussion and at one noctur- 
nal sitting, the feudal regime, the rights and privileges of provinces and 
corporations, the tithes, and the greater part of the seignorial prerogatives. It 
was decreed that the legislative power should be exercised by a single chamber, 
and that the king should abandon the absolute veto and confine himself to a 
merely suspensive one. The popular ferments had still continued in the capital. 
Necker had been recalled, and entered Paris in a kind of triumph, but with 
that event ended his career of fame. Believing himself master of a party who 
no longer looked on him as more than an instrument, he endeavoured to save 
Bezenval, the second in command of the troops, whom the people had made 
prisoner. The intendant Foulon and his nephew Berthier had already perished, 
victims to the popular fury ; Bezenval was more deeply compromised than 
either of these ; and Necker, by proposing an amnesty, sacrificed his popu- 
larity. 

The question of the veto power of the king produced the utmost agitation 
in Paris. The assembly of electors who had assumed the functions of a pro- 
visional municipal, had been recently replaced. One hundred and eighty 
members, named by the different districts, had constituted themselves legis- 
lators and representatives of the whole body of citizens, whilst the committees 
of the sixty districts of Paris assumed to themselves likewise a legislative power, 
superior to that of their constituents. The rage for public discussion became 
general, and assemblies of every description were formed throughout the city. 
The most animated debates were carried on in the Palais Royal, whence the 
people controlled those of the National Assembly. The court party aimed at 
exhibiting Louis in the character of a distressed monarch, and wished him to 
take refuge in the midst of his army. But the king really loved his people, 

* Bonnechose. Alison. Thiers. 
Vol. III. 36 2 a 2 



282 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

and refused to comply with the suggestion. Troops were, however, collected 
around Versailles, some dragoons and the regiment of Flanders. A feast was 
given to the officers of the newly-arrived regiment by their comrades, in the 
theatre of the Chateau, which was usually reserved for great solemnities ; and 
in the midst of this noisy assemblage suddenly appeared the king and queen, 
the latter carrying the dauphin in her arms. Their entrance was greeted with 
shouts of enthusiasm, white cockades were distributed, and the tri-coloured 
emblems trodden under foot. 

Such was the celebrated banquet of the 1st of October, the news of which 
spread throughout Paris, and produced the most violent fermentation. The 
arrival of the regiments, their hostile demonstrations, the apprehension of plots 
against the people, and, more than all, a great scarcity of provisions, combined 
to occasion a fearful outbreak of the popular passions. The signal was given 
on the 5th of October by a young girl, who traversed the streets beating a drum 
and shouting "Bread! bread!" A crowd of women gathered around her, and 
the general cry was '<■ To Versailles!" Maillard, one of the volunteers of the 
Bastile, placed himself at the head of this motley assemblage, continually 
swelled by the accession of furious multitudes, and offered to lead them thither. 
Lafayette kept them in check for seven hours, but they at length set out and 
reached Versailles, where their approach had already spread general consterna- 
tion. Before Lafayette arrived there with the National Guard, an engagement 
had taken place between the populace and the gardes du corps, hut his presence 
restored security ; and tranquillity was re-established. Unfortunately he retired 
to rest. In the dead of the night some stragglers found one of the gratings of 
the chateau open ; they aroused their companions and entered the royal abode. 
The alarm M'as speedily given, and a struggle took place between the populace 
and the guards on duty, many of whom fell at their posts, exclaiming, " Save 
the queen." Marie Antoinette, apprized of her danger, fled half-dressed to the 
apartment of the king, while the mob entered her room and pierced her bed 
with bayonets. Lafayette flew to the scene of action, and found that the 
Paris guard had already taken part with the gardes du corps. He succeeded 
in clearing the castle of the mob, exposing his own life to drive back the rioters 
from the royal apartments. The multitude demanded with loud cries that the 
king should make his appearance. He showed himself fearlessly to the multi- 
tude, and was respectfully received. The queen, who appears to have been 
the especial object of popular hatred, was also called, and she appeared at the 
window with her children. Twenty thousand voices exclaimed '< Away with 
the children!" and the queen, sending them in, reappeared alone in the pre- 
sence of a mob from whom she expected death. Such conduct was worthy 
of a daughter of Maria Theresa ; her contempt of personal danger overcame 
the fury of the mob, and universal shouts of applause testified their sense of the 
reality of the peril she had braved. 

The leaders of the tumult now resolved to derive some advantage from 
their success, by removing the king and royal family to Paris, where they 
would be entirely subjected to control. The cry was immediately raised 



THE KING TAKEN TO PARIS. 



283 




MARIE ANTOINETTE. 



among the populace, " Let us bring the king to Paris! It is the only way of 
securing bread to our children." At the suggestion of Lafayette, Louis XVL 
showed himself to the shouting crowd, and promised to do as they required. 
But the animosity against the queen again broke forth into shouts, and Lafayette 
led her out on the balcony and kissed her hand before them with deep respect. 
This act of their favourite assured the multitude, applause burst forth on every 
hand ; the Assembly passed a resolution that it was inseparable from the king 
and would accompany him to the capital. At noon the royal party set out for 
Paris, escorted by the bleeding and dejected body-guards, and accompanied 
by a hideous and bloody procession. Louis was conducted to the Hotel de 
Ville, and thence to the Tuileries, which thenceforward became his palace and 
his prison. 

The National Assembly followed him to Paris. Soon they decreed the 
spoliation of the clergy, by placing their benefices at the disposal of the nation. 
They ordered the division of France into eighty-three departments ; the sale 
of the crown lands and ecclesiastical property ; the issuing of assignats or bills, 
to serve as currency until actual money should be realized from the sale of the 
estates — to be a means of payment for the state and a pledge for the creditors ; 
the admission of Jews to the right of citizens ; the prohibition of monastic 



284 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

vows ; the right of a national assembly to declare war in consequence of a pro- 
position from the king ; a secular constitution, which rendered the clergy inde- 
pendent of the head of the church, and gave the people a right to nominate 
their bishops ; and the abolition of the noblesse. (1790.) The king was to 
be the depositary and supreme head of the executive power, but he had been 
stripped of the means necessary to the effective exercise of authority. The 
assembly suffered him to retain his title of king, but divested him of his most 
necessary prerogatives. The court party resolved to procure the liberation of 
the king by carrying him off to Peronne. The Marquis of Favras took upon 
himself the execution of this enterprise ; he made too much preparation and 
failed. The court of the chatelet condemned him to death. (June, 1791.) 

The fourteenth of July, the anniversary of the nation's deliverance, 
approached, and preparations were made to celebrate it by a solemnity which 
should elevate the feelings of the citizens and bind them in closer bonds. The 
place chosen was the Champ de Mars. At seven in the morning of the ap- 
pointed day, the assemblage of electors, of representatives of the communes, 
the presidents of the districts, the National Assembly, the Parisian Guard, the 
deputies of the army, and the federates of the departments, went in procession 
from the place of the Bastile. The presence of all the national bodies, the 
floating banners, the patriotic inscriptions, the varied costumes, the sounds of 
music, and the joy of the people, all combined to make the train an imposing 
one. The procession traversed the town and passed the Seine to the sound 
of a discharge of artillery, across a bridge of boats which had been thrown over 
in the evening. It entered the Champ de Mars through a triumphal arch, 
decorated with patriotic inscriptions. Each body, in perfect order and hailed 
with applause, placed itself in the appointed situation. The vast extent of the 
Champ de Mars was surrounded by steps of green turf rising one above another, 
occupied by four hundred thousand spectators ; in the middle rose an altar, 
constructed after the manner of the ancients ; around the altar, in a vast am- 
phitheatre, were seen the king, his family, the assembly, and the municipality ; 
the federates of the departments were placed in order under their banners ; the 
deputies of the army were in their ranks and under their colours ; the Bishop 
of Autun ascended the altar in pontifical robes ; four hundred priests, clothed 
in white surplices with floating tri-coloured cinctures, were posted at the four 
corners of the altar. Mass was celebrated amidst the sound of military instru- 
ments. The Bishop of Autun then blessed the oriflamme and the eighty-three 
banners. 

A profound silence now ensued in this vast enclosure, and Lafayette, as 
commandant of the National Guards, advanced first to take the civic oath. 
He was borne in the arms of grenadiers and amidst the acclamations of the 
people to the altar of the country ; where, in a loud voice, in his own name and 
in the name of the troops and of the federates, he spoke as follows: "We 
swear to be ever faithful to the nation, to the law, and to the king ; and to 
maintain with all our power the constitution decreed by the National Assembly, 
and accepted by the king ; and to remain united to all Frenchmen by indisso- 



FESTIVAL OF THE FEDERATION. 285 

luble ties of fraternity." Discharges of artillery, shouts of " Long live the 
nation! Long live the king!" the clashing of arms, the sounds of music, 
instantly mingled in one unanimous and prolonged cadence. The president 
of the assembly took the same oath, and all the deputies repeated it at the 
same time. Louis then rose. " I, the King of France," said he, «' swear to 
employ all the powers delegated to me by the constitutional act of the state to 
maintain the constitution decreed by the National Assembly and accepted by 
me." The queen being led forward, raised the dauphin in her arms, and 
showing him to the people, said, '< Here is my son ; he unites with me in the 
same sentiments." At the same instant the banners were lowered, and the 
people united in a loud and prolonged shout. Subjects believed in the sin- 
cerity of the monarch, and the monarch in the attachment of his subjects ; and 
this happy day was terminated by a solemn chant of thanksgiving. The festival 
of the federation was prolonged for some time ; civic games, illuminations, 
balls were given by the city of Paris to the deputies of the departments. A 
dance was led off on the site of the Bastile. Gratings, bars, and ruins were 
scattered here and there, and over the gate was written an inscription which 
contrasted finely with the ancient destination of this abode, — " Dancing herey 
They danced with joy, with security, on the very spot where had flowed so 
many tears ; where courage, genius, and innocence had so often breathed forth 
their groans, — where the cries of despair had been so often stifled.* (July 14, 
1790.) 

But notwithstanding all this show of love and peace, a secret fermentation 
remained. During the year 1790, however, the royal family lived quietly in 
the Tuileries, in a condition no way different from that of prisoners constantly 
alarmed by rumours of insurrection and foreign war. The second act of the 
great drama begins with the decree of the Assembly that the king should not 
remove more than twenty leagues from Paris, and that in case he should leave 
the kingdom and refuse to return on the invitation of the assembly, he should 
forfeit the throne. The countenance of the people was sought by all parties ; 
they were conciliated as the sovereign of the time. At that time clubs were a 
powerful medium for acting upon the populace, and they were resorted to. 
They were at this period private meetings, in which were discussed the mea- 
sures of government, the affairs of state, and the decrees of the Assembly; their 
deliberations were without authority, but not without influence. The first club 
had its origin with the Breton deputies, who met together to concert their mea- 
sures. When the national representation was transferred from Versailles to 
Paris, the Breton deputies and those who thought with them held their sittings 
in the old convent of the Jacobins, which gave its name to their assembly. At 
first it was only a preparatory meeting, but it did not content itself with influ- 
encing the Assembly. It became desirous of acting upon the municipality and 
the multitude, and admitted associates, the members of the communes and 
persons who were only citizens. Its organization became more regular, its 

* Koch. Mignet. Thiers. Alison. 



286 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 



iHI 







THE JACOBIN OLUB. 



action more powerful ; new societies were affiliated in the provinces, and it 
raised by the side of the legal power another power, which began by counsel- 
ling and ended by governing it. 

In becoming a popular assembly, the Jacobin club was abandoned by a 
part of its founders. These established a club upon the original plan, under 
the name of the club of Eighty-Nine. Sieyes, Chapelier, Lafayette, La Roche- 
foucault, directed it, as the Lameths and Barnave directed that of the Jacobins. 
Mirabeau shared in the deliberations of both, and was equally sought after by 
each of them. These clubs, of which one exercised its influence in the Assem- 
bly, the other among the people, were attached to the new order of things, 
though in different degrees. The aristocrats wished to attack the revolution 
with its own arms ; they got up royalist clubs in opposition to the popular 
clubs. One, the Impartialist, attached itself to no party, and therefore soon 
fell ; the other, the Monarchic, united all those whose views it represented ; but 
it excited so much commotion that the municipal authority was compelled to 
put an end to it. The external situation of the nation was deemed by some 
sufficiently alarming to demand the suppression of emigration, as a measure of 
security and defence, by confiscating the property of the fugitive. But this 
was rejected at the instance of Mirabeau, who denounced it as worthy of being 
placed in the code of Draco. 

This great statesman did not much longer enjoy his popularity. In a few 
■days after this sitting, worn out by toil and passion, he died. His death was 



WILKES, MIRABEAU, AND CHATHAM. 287 

a public calamity ; all Paris assisted at his funeral ; all France put on mourn- 
ing; and his remains were deposited in a burial-ground which was thenceforth 
consecrated to great men in the name of a grateful country. He had no suc- 
cessor in power and popularity, and the eyes of the Assembly, in a difficult 
discussion, were for a long time wont to turn towards that seat whence the 
sovereign word had issued to terminate their debates. Mirabeau probably 
died not unseasonably for his fame. He had thus far successfully aided and 
guided the revolution, now he was -meditating vast designs, very difficult to 
accomplish — to strengthen the throne, and to fix the revolution in the stage at 
which it had then arrived. Comparing Mirabeau with Wilkes and Chatham, 
Macaulay says, he had Wilkes's sensuality, Wilkes's levity, Wilkes's insensi- 
bility to shame. Like Wilkes, he brought on himself the censure even of men 
of pleasure by the peculiar grossness of his immorality and by the obscenity of 
his writings. Like Wilkes,- he was heedless not only of the laws of morality 
but of the laws of honour. Yet he affected like Wilkes to unite the character 
of the demagogue to that of the fine gentleman. Like Wilkes, he conciliated 
by his good humour and his high spirits the regard of many who despised his 
character. Like Wilkes, he was hideously ugly ; like Wilkes, he made a jest 
of his own ugliness ; and, like Wilkes, he was, in spite of his ugliness, very 
attentive to his dress, and very successful in affairs of gallantry. 

Resembling Wilkes in the lower and grosser parts of his character, he had 
in his higher qualities some affinity to Chatham. His eloquence, as far as we 
can judge of it, bore no inconsiderable resemblance to that of the great 
English minister. He was not eminently successful in long set speeches. He 
was not, on the other hand, a close and ready debater. Sudden bursts, which 
seemed to be the effect of inspiration — short sentences, which came like light- 
ning, dazzling, burning, striking down every thing before them — sentences 
which, spoken at critical moments, decided the fate of great questions — sen- 
tences which at once became proverbs — sentences which everybody still knows 
by heart — in these chiefly lay the oratorical power of both Chatham and Mira- 
beau. There have been far greater speakers and far greater statesmen than 
either of them; but we doubt whether any men have in modern times exercised 
such vast personal influence over stormy and divided assemblies. The power 
of both was as much moral as intellectual. In true dignity of character, in 
private and public virtue, it may seem absurd to institute any comparison 
between them ; but they had the same haughtiness and vehemence of temper. 
In their language and manner there was a disdainful self-confidence, an impe- 
riousness, a fierceness of passion, before which all common minds quailed. 
Even Murray and Charles Townshend, though intellectually not inferior to 
Chatham, were always cowed by him. Barnave, in the same manner, though 
the best debater in the National Assembly, flinched before the energy of Mira- 
beau. Men, except in bad novels, are not all good or all evil. It can scarcely 
be denied that the virtue of Lord Chatham was a little theatrical. On the other 
hand, there was in Mirabeau not indeed anything deserving the name of virtue, 
but that imperfect substitute for virtue that is found in almost all superior 



288 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 




MIRABEAU. 



minds — a sensibility to the beautiful and the good, which sometimes amounted 
to sincere enthusiasm, and which, mingled with the desire of admiration, some- 
times gave to his character a lustre resembling the lustre of true goodness ; as 
the faded splendour wan which lingered round the fallen archangel resembled 
the exceeding brightness of those spirits who had kept their first estate. 

Infinitely more dangerous to the peace of Europe than the intrigues of the 
Jacobins were the emigrations of the nobles who were dissatisfied with the 
revolution ; instead of remaining at home and organizing a constitutional 
resistance, they resolved to seek the restoration of the old government with all 
its abuses by the intervention of foreign powers. A meeting and conference 
took place at Pilnitz between the Emperor of Germany, the King of Prussia, 
and the Elector of Saxony; the Count D'Artois, brother to the French monarch, 
came uninvited, and engaged the sovereigns to issue a vague declaration in 
favour of the rights of kings. Louis made another attempt to escape from the 
captivity in which he was held to the frontiers. He fled from Paris, accompa- 
nied by the queen and his children, but was discovered at Varennes and 
brought back a prisoner to the capital. 

This failure exposed the royal family to suspicions, of which the Jacobins 
took advantage, and an eflfort was made in the National Assembly to procure 
the deposition of the king. A large assemblage which had met in the Champ 
de Mars for the purpose of overawing the Assembly into this measure, was dis- 
persed by Lafayette without bloodshed. But the multitude returned on the 
same day in greater numbers and with more resolute determination. From 
the altar of the country Danton and Camille-Desmoulins harangued it ; two 



THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. 289 

persons whom tliey took for spies were killed, and Lafayette came again with 
twelve hundred National Guards to suppress the insurrection. Bailly accom- 
panied him, and caused the red flag to be unfurled ; but the multitude refused 
to retire, and assailed the guard vigorously with stones. Firing in the air 
caused the soldiers to be more fiercely assaulted, and they therefore made a 
real and effective discharge upon the insurgents. The multitude, struck with 
terror, fled, leaving numbers dead upon the Field of Federation. The dis- 
turbance ceased, order was restored, but blood had been shed, and the people 
never pardoned either Lafayette or Bailly the necessity to which they had been 
forced. 

The moderate party in the Assembly, however, had gained the ascendency. 
The constitutional articles were revised in some points, and digested into a 
systematic form. On the 13th of September, 1791, the king accepted this new 
constitution with readiness, and his frank communication of his satisfaction 
with the arrangement to his ambassadors at the different European courts, for 
a time restored his popularity. The Emperor Leopold notified to the other 
powers that all danger of war was averted, and the external and internal tran- 
quillity of France seemed to be assured. The Constituent Assembly, after 
having declared Avignon and Venaissin annexed to France, separated to make 
way for a Legislative Assembly. This just and glorious revolutionary body 
Avas courageous and enlightened; it had only one passion, that of the law. 
In two years, by unexampled eflforts and perseverance, it accomplished 
the greatest revolution which a single generation of mankind ever witnessed. 
In the midst of its labours, it put down despotism and anarchy by defeating 
the intrigues of the aristocracy and maintaining the subordination of the people. 
The work it had been required to do was one of devastation, and so well quali- 
fied was it for its accomplishment, that it was in truth what Burke called it in 
irony, the ablest architect of ruin the world ever saw. Its error was in not 
confiding the conduct of the revolution to those who had effected it. In a 
moment of unreflecting liberality it declared that none of its members could be 
elected to the first Legislative Assembly, thus foolishly imitating the example 
of those legislators of antiquity, who exiled themselves from their country after 
having given it a constitution. A new Assembly did not apply itself to the 
consolidation of the work of its predecessor, and the revolution, which required 
only to be completed, was begun anew.* 

The Legislative Assembly commenced its sessions on the 1st of October, 
1791. The party most friendly to the constitution was led by Lameth, Bar- 
nave, Duport, Damas, and Vaublanc, and received its name from the club of 
Feuillants, which formed the centre of its power. Their adversaries were 
termed Girondists, as the most able of the party came from a province of that 
name near Bordeaux. Their orators were more brilliant than those of the 
Feuillants; Condorcet, Petion, Vergniaud, Gaudet, Gensonne, Isnard, and 
Brissot being among the most conspicuous. But there was a third party, 

* Mignet. 
Vol. III. 37 2 B 



290 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 



more revolutionary and less humane than the Girondists, who were becoming 
adepts in the art of exciting the populace. In the Assembly their leaders were 
Chabot, Bazire, and Merlin, but the clubs of the Jacobins and Cordeliers were 
the pillars of their authority. In the first Robespierre, Billaud Varennes, and 
Collot d'Herbois held sway ; the latter was under the dominion of Danton, 
Carrier, Desmoulins, and Fabre d'Eglantine. Santerre, a brewer celebrated 
in the bloodiest days of the revolution, had obtained the complete rule of the 
Faubourg St. Antoine.* 

The first contest was with the clergy, who sought to make interest for 
their cause among the people, and instigated revolts in the districts of Calvados, 
Gevandan, and La Vendee. The Assembly confiscated the property of the 
emigrants, and banished those of the priests who refused to swear to the con- 
stitution, while the king was treated with disrespect and forced to dismiss a 
portion of his guards. At this period the Austrian and Prussian monarchs 
assembled a large force on the frontiers, and the king proposed a declaration 
of war to the Assembly, in accordance with the will of his ministry. This 
was composed chiefly of Jacobins. It was termed by the court party the 
sans culotte ministry, because Roland, who was minister for the interior, had 
presented himself at court for the first time in a round hat, and with strings 
in his shoes instead of buckles ; a dress not then consistent with court 
etiquette. 

In the evening the convention met to consider the war question, when it 
was almost unanimously agreed to, Condorcet, Roland, Claviere, Degraves, and 
others of the most enlightened men in the Assembly being carried away by the 
more vehement and reckless to vote in favour of a measure of which they really 

disapproved. (April 20, 1792.) One 
hundred and fifty thousand men were 
decreed for the support of the war, and 
Luckner,Rocharabeau, and Lafayette were 
each to command an army. This number, 
however, was not more than half assem- 
bled, the munitions were insufficient, 
fortresses in a bad condition, and the 
soldiers disorderly and undisciplined. 
An invasion of Austrian Flanders was 
disgracefully frustrated by this state of 
things, and Rochambeau retired from the 
service in disgust. The allies collected a 
force of seventy thousand Prussians and 
sixty-eight thousand Austrians, Hessians, 
and emigrants. On the frontiers, under the Duke of Brunswick, Longwy and 
Verdun opened their gates, but the farther progress of the allies was arrested 
by Dumouriez, who had succeeded Lafayette in the command of the army. 




DUKE OF BRUNS-WICK. 



* Alison. Mignet. 



LAST DAY OF THE MONARCHY. 



291 




DDUOafilEZ. 



He threw himself into the forest of Argonne, and established his army at Grand- 
pre and Les-Islettes, whence he wrote as follows to the Assembly: " The camp 
of Grand-pre and that of Les-Islettes are the Thermopylse of France, but I shall 

be more fortunate than Leonidas." The Prus- 
sians were in fact compelled to suspend their 
march ; but a fault committed by Dumouriez 
obliged him to abandon his position and fall 
back upon St. Menehould, where he maintained 
himself until sickness and the want of provisions 
compelled the invaders to recross the Rhine. 
The campaign was marked by other successes 
at different points. On the Rhine, Custine had 
possessed himself of Treves, Spires, and May- 
ence ; Montesquieu had invaded Savoy, and 
Anselme the county of Nice. The French 
armies had everywhere resumed the offensive, 
and the revolution was triumphant. 

Meanwhile the Assembly continued to 
issue decrees repugnant to the conscience of the king and dangerous to the 
security of the throne. Louis, who had been offended by the dismissal of his 
guards, declared that he could no longer submit to the insolence of his new 
ministers, three of whom he discarded with indignation. Their accomplices, 
the Jacobins, and Petion, the mayor of Paris, then organized an insurrection of the 
armed populace of the faubourgs or suburbs. They first entered the hall of the 
Assembly, and thence went to the Tuileries, the gates of which the king com- 
manded to be opened. He presented himself almost alone before the insur- 
gents, and while he maintained the stand he had taken against the decrees 
of the Assembly, his firmness and courage saved his own life and that of his 
queen. The Assembly, however, displayed the most shameful pusillanimity. 
They even carried their cowardice so far as to replace in office Petion and 
Manuel, whom the king had suspended from their functions for having failed 
to perform their duty. 

The popular excitement was very great: the Assembly, in view of the 
foreign troops on the frontiers, declared the country in danger, all citizens 
capable of bearing arms were enrolled, pikes were distributed, and everything 
indicated an approaching crisis. The cry of the multitudes on the anniversary 
of the 14th of July was " Petion or death!" The popular party in Paris was 
desirous to annul the king's authority. Robespierre, Danton, Camille-Des- 
moulins, Fabre d'Eglantine, and the infamous Marat, harangued the multitude 
and inflamed its madness. Attempts were made in the Assembly to depose 
the king and bring Lafayette to trial, and the revolutionists fixed upon the 
10th of August for an attack upon the palace. The court had provided sol- 
diers for its defence. But the terrible Danton led on the multitude with pointed 
cannon, and the National Guard gave evidence of their unwillingness to protect 
the king. Louis therefore left the Tuileries and proceeded with his family to 



292 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 




tOniS XVI. C. OINO TO THS HALL OF IKE LEGISLATIVE ASoEUDLT 



the hall of the Assembly, amid the insults and clamors of the populace. The 
contest at the palace raged after the king's departure between the Swiss guards 
and the assailants, of whom the advanced guard was formed of MarseilJois and 
Bretons, led on by Westermann. The Swiss were cut to pieces ; and this 
was the last day of the monarchy. The council of the commune of Paris had 
been violently changed, and the head of the new municipality came before the 
Assembly to demand the recognition of its powers, preceded by three banners, 
on which were inscribed the words Patrie, liberie, igalite ; and concluded its 
address by demanding the king's deposition and a National Assembly. Ver- 
gnlaud, the president of the Legislative Assembly, replied by proposing the 
convocation of an Assembly extraordinary, the dismissal of the ministers, and 
the suspension of the royal authority. These measures were approved ; the 
Girondin ministers were recalled, Louis XVL was conducted to the temple, 
and the 23d of September was fixed for the opening of the Assembly which 
was to decide on the destinies of the nation. 

From that moment the revolutionary movement was directed rather to the 
maintenance of the public safety than the promotion of liberty; and Lafayette 
perceived that such was its future mission, after having himself made in- 
credible efforts for the re-establishment of a constitutional monarchy. The 
enemy's army was approaching and the country was menaced with civil war. 



MASSACRE OF THE PRISONS. 293 

Under these circumstances, Lafayette could not hesitate between the resigna- 
tion of his command and the chance of provoking internal strife. He aban- 
doned his army and passed the frontier. Recognised by the Austrian posts, he 
was arrested and imprisoned by the Emperor, first at Magdeburgh and after- 
wards at Olmutz, in defiance of the law of nations. There he exhibited a noble 
courage during four years of cruel captivity. His release was made conditional 
upon certain retractations which were required from him ; and he chose rather to 
remain in fetters than abjure the cause to which he had dedicated his fortune 
and his life. 

In Paris, the victorious party of the 10th of August proceeded to establish 
its authority by the most violent measures. It caused all the statues of the 
kings to be thrown down, opened the elective franchise to all without qualifica- 
tion, and demanded from the Assembly an extraordinary tribunal for the trial 
of those whom it was pleased to call the conspirators of the 10th of August. 
The tribunal was established, and, in compliance with the advice of Danton to 
begin to arrest the progress of the enemy by striking terror into the royalists at 
home, many arrests were made. When the news of the taking of Verdun was 
received, in the night between the 1st and 2d of September, 1792, the infuriated 
multitude commenced the massacre of the prisons. For three days the un- 
happy nobles and priests recently arrested were slaughtered by three hundred 
murderers, amidst a horrid parody of judicial forms. Through all that fearful 
time were multiplied on one hand traits of noble resignation and heroic devo- 
tion, and on the other, acts of the most atrocious madness. They enacted their 
Jiorrid saturnalia beneath the walls of the Temple itself, presenting to the eyes 
of the queen, at that royal prison, the bleeding head of her friend, the unfortu- 
nate Princess de Lamballe. The Assembly wanted the power to put a stop to 
these massacres. The mayor Petion was suspended from his functions, the 
good amongst the citizens were stricken with terror, and the mob reigned 
supreme in Paris. 

The first act of the new Assembly, which assumed the title of the National 
Convention, was to abolish royalty and proclaim the republic ; its next, to de- 
clare that it would date from the year 1 of the French republic. These mea- 
sures were voted by unanimous acclamation ; but a short time only had elapsed 
ere the two parties who towards its close had divided the Legislative Assembly, 
recommenced a furious contest, the issue of which was fatal to both. These 
parties were that of the Girondins, who sat on the right of the Assembly, and 
that of the Mountain, who occupied the upper part of the left, from which they 
derived their name. The Girondins, intelligent and upright, were sincere 
republicans, but they, in repugnance at violence, lost the confidence of the 
constitutionalists, without acquiring that of the democrats. Less eloquent and 
less enlightened than the Girondists, the Mountain party were, however, more 
consistent, more decided and unscrupulous in the choice of means. The 
extreme of democracy appeared to them the best possible government, and 
their leaders were Danton, Robespierre, and Marat. Danton would have 
stopped the shedding of blood with the massacres of September ; but Marat, 

2b2 



294 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 




HoBESPlSHHE 



who was a furious fanatic, had made himself the avowed apostle of murder in 
his discourses and in a journal which he published, " The Friend of the Peo- 
ple." He advocated a dictatorship to combat the enemies of the revolution, 
and extermination in the mass for their removal. Marat paid his court to the 
most humble of the populace, men who, though clothed in rags or half 
unclothed, were now of weight in the political system. The needy, the 
thieves, the cut-throats, in a word, the dregs of the people, to a man supported 
Marat. 

Robespierre, ostensibly the friend of this monster, in secret his enemy, was 
equally dear to the multitude, but allied to a somewhat higher division of it, 
to the shopkeepers and scribes, small traders and petty lawyers. In place of 
the fihh, vulgarity, and disgusting manners, in a word, the sans culottism of 
Marat, he substituted gentlemanly pretensions, and a tasteful, elegant, and 
well-arranged dress. It has been regarded as inexplicable how Robespierre 
rose to the power which he possessed for sixteen months before his death. His 
contemporaries are unanimous in their declarations that his abilities were 
extremely moderate, that his courage was doubtful, and his style of oratory 
often tiresome and perplexed. If all this be true, asks Alison, how did he 
succeed in rising to the head of an assembly composed of men of unquestioned 
ability, and ruled by the oldest and most audacious orators in France? How 
did he compose the many and admirable speeches, close in reasoning, energetic 
in thought, eloquent in expression, which lie delivered from the tribune and 



ROBESPIERRE. 295 

which history has preserved to ilhisirate his name ? Supposing them to have 
been written by others, how did he maintain his authority at the Jacobin club, 
whose nocturnal orgies generally took a turn which no previous foresight could 
have imagined, and no ordinary courage could withstand ? How did he con- 
duct himself in such a manner as to destroy all his rivals, and, at a time when 
all were burning with ambition, contrive to govern France with a power un- 
known to Louis XIV. ? The truth is, Robespierre must have been a man of 
most extraordinary ability ; and the depreciatory testimony of his contempora- 
ries probably proceeded from that envy which is the never-failing attendant of 
sudden and unlooked-for elevation.* 

In aiming at obtaining the supreme control, the first labour of Robespierre 
was to destroy the Gironde by means of the party of the Mountain, and the 
second, to destroy by their aid every man of the ancient regime capable by his 
rank, his talent, or his virtue of standing in his way. It was indispensable to 
reduce to his own level, either by the guillotine or otherwise, all the heads 
above himself. This done, the Mountain itself was to be destroyed — deci- 
mated in its highest summits, in such a manner that he alone would remain, 
and nothing oppose his governing France with absolute sway. The Girondists 
aided his design by acting against all the rules of the most ordinary prudence. 
They committed a fault by attacking Robespierre with the utmost violence, 
thereby making him a man of importance and the first of the leaders of the 
Mountain, a station which he had not before held ; they committed a greater 
fault in suffering their accusation to drop. They had the majority in the Con- 
vention ; but their measures were all ill-proposed or badly seconded, and none 
of them succeeded. They ought to have strengthened the government, 
restored the municipality, maintained popularity among the Jacobins, and 
governed them ; they should have gained the multitude or prevented it from 
acting, but they did nothing of all this. One of their number, Buzot, proposed 
to give the Convention a guard of three thousand men, drawn from the depart- 
ments. This would have preserved the independence of the Assembly, but it 
was not supported with suflScient warmth. Thus the Girondists attacked the 
Mountainists without weakening them ; the commune whhout subduing it ; the 
faubourgs without destroying their power. They irritated Paris by calling in 
the assistance of the departments without after all obtaining it ; but their adver- 
saries seized upon this attempt, to pervert it into a design to league all the 
other departments against Paris, and accordingly exhibited them to the multi- 
tude as Federalists. Carrying out this idea, the Mountainists struck a blow at 
them by causing to be decreed the unity and indivisibility of the Republic. 

The French arms were triumphant in Belgium, where, on the 6th of 
November, Dumouriez gained the celebrated victory of Jemappes, over the 
Austrians, near Mons. On the 14th he entered Brussels ; whilst his generals 
took possession of Namur and Antwerp. The Austrians were driven across 
the Roer, and all Belgium was subdued. The Flemings had received the 

* Alison's Essays. 



296 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

French as liberators ; but the Jacobins estranged them by extortions and deli- 
vered them over to anarchy. Indignant at these proceedings, Dumouriez 
repaired to Paris with the twofold object of repressing their violence and 
saving Louis XVI. In both causes his efforts proved futile. 

To gain more completely the ascendency, it was necessary for the leaders 
of the Mountain to prolong the revolutionary state of France, and prevent the 
establishment of legal order by a terrible stroke of policy, which should move 
all passions and rally round them all the violent partisans, by showing them to 
be the faithful guardians of the Republic, whilst at the same time they would 
ruin the Girondists in the opinion of the mob, by holding them up as the friends 
of royalty. Such a stroke of policy would be the condemnation of the king, 
or, as he was now called, Louis Capet.* 

This conviction arrived at, the unscrupulous Mountainists were not long 
in putting their design into execution. The discussion on the trial of the king 
was opened on the 13th of November, 1792 ; the principal charges against him 
arising out of papers found at the Tuileries in an iron chest, the secret of which 
had been disclosed to the minister Roland. Therein were discovered all the 
plottings and intrigues of the court against the revolution, as well as the 
arranofements with Mirabeau, and those with General Bouille relative to the 
king's escape to Varennes. Other papers, too, found in the office of the civil 
list, seemed to establish the fact that Louis had not been altogether a stranger 
to the movements negotiated in Europe in his favour. As king, however, the 
constitution had declared him inviolable ; besides, he was deposed and could 
not, but in defiance of every law, be condemned for acts anterior to his depo- 
sition. All the illegality of their conduct indeed was felt by those who 
directed the proceedings against him. Robespierre, in demanding his death, 
repudiated all forms as fictions, and, with the orator Saint Just, relied solely 
on reasons of state. "There is no trial contemplated," said this fearful man ; 
" Louis is not accused, and you are not his judges ; you are and only can be 
statesmen. You have not to pronounce a sentence for or against a man, but 
you have a measure of public safety to adopt, an act of national care to under- 
take. A dethroned king in a republic can only do two things; either he troubles 
the tranquillity of the state and endangers its liberty, or he adds security to 
both. Louis was king ; the republic is founded ; the great question which 
occupies you is decided in these few words, — Louis is not to be tried ; he has 
been tried already; he is condemned, or the republic is not absolute." He 
then demanded that the Convention should declare Louis XVI. a traitor to the 
French, guilty towards humanity, and condemn him forthwith to death in virtue 
of the insurrection.! 

The majority of the Assembly persisted in the determination to submit this 
great process to judicial forms ; and Louis, who had already been separated 
from his family, appeared as a culprit before the Convention, whose jurisdiction 
he did not challenge. His countenance was firm and noble ; his answers pre- 

* Mignet, | Mignet. Bonnechose. 



EXECUTION OF THE KING. 297 

cise, touching, and almost always triumphant. Conducted back to the Temple, 
he demanded a defender, and named Tronchet and Target. The latter 
declined, and Malesherbes offered himself in his place. He was accepted. 
These counsellors immediately set about preparing his defence, which was 
delivered by their associate, M. de Seze. His pathetic pleading concluded in 
the following words, which, for their truth and solemnity, deserve to be 
recorded: '< Listen to History, who will say to Fame — Louis, who ascended 
the throne at the age of twenty, carried with him an example of morality, 
justice, and economy ; he had no weaknesses, no corrupting passion, and he 
w^as the constant friend of the people. That people desired the abolition of a 
burdensome impost — Louis abolished it ; the people asked for the destruction 
of servitudes — Louis destro}^ed them ; the people demanded reforms — Louis 
gave them ; the people sought to change the laws by which they were governed 
• — Louis consented ; the people desired that their alienated rights should be 
restored to millions of Frenchmen — Louis restored them ; the people sighed 
for liberty — and Louis gave it. No one can deny to him the glory of having 
even anticipated the wishes of the people in his sacrifices ; and yet, he it is 

whom you are asked to Citizens, I dare not speak it ! I pause before the 

majesty of history. Remember that history will judge your judgment, and 
that the judgment of history will be that of ages." 

The passions of the judges were blind and implacable; Louis was declared 
guilty by a unanimous vote, and the appeal to the people in reference to his 
sentence, which the Girondists demanded, was refused. Nothing then remained 
but to pronounce the punishment to be inflicted on the king. Of seven hun- 
dred and twenty-one voters, three hundred and sixty-six, and among these the 
Duke of Orleans, pronounced death, which thus was carried by a majority of 
five. An attempt was made to appeal from the sentence to the nation ; but 
his execution was ordered to take place within twenty-four hours. Louis had 
one last and heart-rending interview with his family after his condemnation, 
and then prepared himself for death. He had already made his will, a monu- 
ment at once of his piety and the purity of his heart. He slept calmly, received 
the offices of the church, and confided his last wishes to his faithful and only 
remaining servant, Clery. Santerre shortly after arrived, and Louis went forth 
with him to execution. The carriage took an hour to go from the Temple to 
the Square of the Revolution. A double line of soldiers guarded the road, and 
more than 4000 men were under arms. Paris was in gloom. There were no 
signs of approbation, no appearances indicating regret. All were silent. On 
their arrival at the place of execution, Louis descended from the carriage. He 
mounted with a firm step the ladder on the scaffold, and received on his knees 
the blessing of the priest, who then said to him, " Son of St. Louis, ascend to 
heaven." With some reluctance he allowed his hands to be tied, and turning 
to the left of the scaffold, he said, " I die innocent. I forgive my enemies, 
and you, unfortunate people." At this moment the signal for the drums to beat 
was given ; the sound of their roll drowned his voice, and the three execu- 
VoL. HL 38 



:98 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 




DEATH OF :. GUIS XVI. 



tioners seized him. He ceased to live at ten minutes past ten, on the 21st of 
January, 1793. 

He was thirty-nine years of age, and he had reigned sixteen years and 
a half, endeavouring to do good. He was the best and the weakest of 
monarchs. The revolution was an inheritance bequeathed to him by his 
ancestors. He was better fitted than any of those who preceded him, either 
to prevent or terminate it ; for he was capable of being a reformer before it 
broke out, or a constitutional monarch afterwards. He was perhaps the only 
prince who, destitute of passions, had not even the love of power, and who 
united the two qualities of a good king, the fear of God and the love of his 
people. He perished the victim of passions which he did not share ; of the 
passions of those about him, to which he was a stranger, and those of the multi- 
tude, which he had not excited. There are few kings who have left behind 
them so excellent a memory, and history will say of him that with a little more 
strength of mind he would have been a pattern to monarchs,* 

From the moment of the king's death, the revolution had for its enemies 
England, Holland, Spain, the German confederation, Bavaria, Suabia, the 
Elector Palatine, Naples, the Holy See, and afterwards Russia. The voice of 



* Mignet. 



INSURRECTION OF LA VENDEE. 



299 



general detestation, however, did not check the career of the sanguinary faction. 
The crime with which the Convention had stained themselves prefaced the 
ruin of the Girondists, though they retarded their downfall by a struggle of four 
months. Two insurrections of the sections of Paris, May 31 and June 2, 1793, 
organized by Hebert, the procureur of the commune, and by the deputies 
Marat, Danton, and Robespierre, decided the victory. The Girondists were 
proscribed for their royalty and federalism, twenty-four of their leaders were 
pointed out by Marat and confined to their own houses by the Assembly, and 
the appeased multitude dispersed : but from that day the party of the Gironde 
was broken down and the Convention was no longer free. 

o 

Troubles had already broken out in La Vendee, where, wdth the ancient 
manners, the feudal customs and prejudices had been preserved, where the 
rural population remained submissive to the priests and the nobles, which latter 
did not join in the tide of emigration. Under the name of the revolutionary 
government, Danton had founded the despotism of the multitude. A levy of 
three hundred thousand armed men was ordered, and an extraordinary tribunal 
created, consisting of nine members, commissioned to punish the domestic 
enemies of the revolution. The attempt to levy troops in La Vendee was fol- 
lowed by the breaking forth of a general insurrection, which was headed by the 
wagoner Cathelineau, a naval officer named Charette, and the gamekeeper 

Stofflet, and seconded by the principal 
nobles. They defeated the troops of the 
line and the National Guard which marched 
against them, overthrowing the republican 
generals, one after the other, simply by their 
passionate intrepidity. They formed three 
armies of from ten to twelve thousand men 
each ; the army of Anjou, on the banks of 
the Loire, under Bonchamps, the grand 
army in the centre under D'Elbee, and the 
army of the Marsh, occupying Lower Ven- 
dee, under Charette. Cathelineau was pro- 
claimed generalissimo. 

About the time of the rising in La 
Vendee, General Dumouriez, who had long 
been hostile to the Jacobins, contemplated 
their overthrow and the restoration of the constitutional monarchy. He had 
invaded Holland unsuccessfully, had lost the battle of Nerwinde against the 
Prince of Coburg, and been compelled to evacuate Belgium. These misfor- 
tunes exposed him more than ever to their attacks, and he meditated a deser- 
tion from the cause of the Republic and a march on Paris in concert with the 
Austrians. But the Convention, informed of his designs, sent a commission to 
bring him to its bar. He delivered the commissioners to the Austrians ; but 
found too late that the republican enthusiasm had taken possession of his 
troops. They abandoned him, and he fled for safety to the camp of the Austrians. 




CHABETTE. 



300 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 




The most resolute of the Girondins availed themselves of the indignation 
excited throughout France by the events of the 31st of May and the 2d of June 
to raise the departments. Caen became the centre of insurrection in the north, 
Brittany took part in it, and the insurgents formed an army under General 
Wimpfen and prepared to march upon Paris. 

It was from Caen that Charlotte Corday set out — a young girl, beautiful 
and brave, heroically resolved to punish Marat, whom she regarded as the 
principal author of the outbreaks of 31st of May and 2d of June. She thought 
to save the republic by sacrificing herself, not aware that the tyranny did not 
depend upon one man, but upon a party and the state of violence in which the 
republic was placed. She effected her generous but useless enterprise, and 
suffered herself to be led to death with unalterable serenity and a modest cou- 
rage, accompanied with the satisfaction of having performed what she conceived 
was a noble action. "I have killed," said she, " one man to save a hundred 
thousand ; a depraved wretch to save the innocent ; a ferocious monster to 
procure peace to my country. I was a republican before the revolution, and I 
never wanted energy." But after his assassination Marat became an object of 
still greater enthusiasm than he had been during his lifetime. His name was 
invoked in the public squares, his bust was seen in all popular assemblies, and 
the Convention was forced to grant him the honours of the Pantheon. 



DESPERATE MEASURES OF THE CONVENTION. 301 

The dangers of the Convention, however, continually increased. The 
principal towns of the kingdom and more than sixty departments were in revolt. 
In rivalry of Marat, a fanatical ruffian named Chalier had endeavoured to imi- 
tate at Lyons the proscriptions of the Parisian commune. A contest arose ; 
Chalier lost his head, and, after the second of June, Lyons refused obedience 
to the Convention. Twenty thousand men took arms within its walls ; Mar- 
seilles rose about the same time; Toulon, Nismes, and Montauban followed 
the example. The royalists availed themselves of the movement ; they called 
the English into Toulon, where Admiral Hood entered and proclaimed Louis 
XVn. Bordeaux likewise revolted. The Vendeans were masters of Bressuire, 
Argenton, and Thouars. Forty thousand of their troops carried Saumur and 
Angers, and threw themselves upon Nantes. Not more promising was the 
situation of the Convention with regard to foreign enemies. Its generals were 
for the most part Girondists, inimical to the party of the Mountain, and no 
harmony could subsist between them. Custine was appointed to the army of 
the north in vain. Mayence resisted admirably, but was compelled to capitu- 
late. The enemy took Valenciennes and Conde ; the frontier was passed ; and 
the army, disheartened, retired behind the Scarpe, their last defensive position 
on that side of Paris. 

The Convention, however, resolved manfully to oppose the accumulated 
dangers. They voted in a few hours a constitution, which established the 
uncontrolled sway of the multitude, and which, acknowledged by its authors 
themselves to be impracticable in a time of general war, they were obliged to 
suspend until peace should be restored. The deputies of the forty-four thou- 
sand municipalities of France, heard at the bar of the Convention, demanded 
the arrest of all suspected persons and the levy en masse of the people. <' Let 
us respond to the call," said Danton ; "it is by the sound of cannon that the 
constitution must be proclaimed to our foes. The time is come for that great 
and final vow, by which we devote ourselves to death or the annihilation of 
tyrants!" The vow was taken, and soon after Barrere, in the name of the 
committee of Public Safety, proposed rigorous measures, which were adopted. 
All the youth of France from eighteen to twenty-five years of age took arms ; 
and France had ere long on foot fourteen armies amounting to twelve hun- 
dred thousand soldiers. Terror was again brought into operation to provide 
for their maintenance and subsistence. The middle classes were overwhelmed 
by violent and multiplied requisitions, death being the penalty of resistance. 
The law against suspected persons was passed ; and France, transformed, for 
one portion of her inhabitants, into a camp, became for another a prison. The 
commercial and citizen classes furnished the prisoners, and were placed, as 
w^ell as the authorities, under the surveillance of the multitude represented by 
the clubs, whom the Convention laboured to attach to themselves. Each needy 
individual received forty sous a day for attending the assemblies of his section. 
Certificates of citizenship were distributed, and each section had its revolution- 
ary committees. 

By such violent measures the Convention triumphed. The army of 

2C 



302 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 



Calvados was routed at Vernon ; and a solemn retractation was obtained from 
the insurgents at Caen. Bordeaux, Toulon, and Lyons fell in succession before 
the republican arms, and the Vendeans alone maintained a terrible and san- 
guinary struggle for their altars and the throne. Repulsed in their attack on 
Nantes, with the loss of their leader, Cathelineau, they fell back behind the 
Loire and defeated, one after the other, the republican generals Biron, Rossig- 
nol, and Canclaux. At length seventeen thousand men of the old garrison of 
Mayence, reputed as the flower of the army, were sent into La Vendee, under 
the command of Kleber. The royalists defeated the Mayencais in the first 
battle ; but they suffered four consecutive defeats at Chatillon and at Chollet, 
their principal leaders being wounded in those sanguinary conflicts. Sur- 
rounded on all sides in La Vendee, they appealed for aid to the English, who 
demanded, as a preliminary to sending succours, that they should possess 
themselves of some seaport. Eighty thousand Vendeans thereupon issued 
from their devastated country, directing their march upon Grandville ; but 
being repulsed from before that place by the want of artillery, and routed at 
Mans, they were entirely destroyed in the attempt to pass the Loire at Savenay. 

Charette, however, continued the war, 
but the island of Noirmoutiers was 
taken fromhim,and LaRochejaquelin, 
the Achilles of La Vendee, perished 
by assassination. The conquest of the 
country by the republicans was now 
complete, and a system of extermina- 
tion commenced. General Thureau 
surrounded the conquered province 
with sixteen intrenched camps and 
twelve movable columns, known as the 
infernal columns^ and traversed the 
country with fire and sword. 

At the same time the republic was 
triumphant on the frontiers. Houchard 
had beaten the Duke of York at the 
battle of Hondtschoot ; and was shortly 
after replaced by Jourdan, who assumed the command of the army of the north. 
The Girondist commanders were all replaced by Jacobins ; the Convention and 
the military leaders were again united ; and success was the result. Jourdan, 
having defeated the Prince of Coburg at Wattignies, resumed the offensive, 
while Hoche and Pichegru were equally victorious with the army of the Moselle, 
and Kellermann with that of the Alps. The stain wuth which an infamous 
government tarnished the republic seemed about to be wiped away by her 
armies. 

All this while the committee of Public Safety pursued its course of execu- 
tions. This decemviral power, established until the restoration of peace, was 
composed of extreme Mountainists, Robespierre, Couthon, Saint Just, Collot 




COUNT HENRI DH LA R O C H E J A Q U S L I N . 



THE REIGN OF TERROR. 



303 




DUKE OF Y O U K . 



d'Herbois, BiJlaud-Varennes, and Barrere being among the members. Each 
of these appropriated to himself a particular part in the drama. Carnot took 

no active share in the proscriptions, but 
directed his genius to the management 
of the military affairs. All the victories 
gained by the republic over its enemies 
at home were signalized by horrid massa- 
cres. Barrere procured an anathema to 
be issued against the town of Lyons. 
The name of Lyons, he said, ought no 
longer to exist. It should be called 
Commune affravchie ; and upon the ruins 
of this infamous city a monument should 
be raised to attest the crime and punish- 
ment of the enemies of liberty. A single 
word would speak the whole. " Lyons 
made war against Liberty. Lyons is no 
more." Collot d'Herbois, Fouche, and 
Couthon were the executioners of the decrees of the Convention against this 
unhappy city ; but the scaffold was too slow for their vengeance, and the van- 
quished insurgents were mowed down with grapeshot in the public squares. 
Toulon, Caen, Marseilles, and Bordeaux likewise became the theatres of fright- 
ful executions, and at Paris the most illustrious victims and chiefs of all the 
vanquished parties laid their heads upon the scaffold. The queen Marie 
Antoinette and the heroic Bailly died within a few days of each other ; and the 
horror of their condemnation and execution was heightened by circumstances 
of execrable atrocity. To these succeeded the Girondins, proscribed on the 
2d of June, to the number of twenty-two ; who advanced to death singing the 
Marseilles hymn. The Duke of Orleans fell ; Barnave and Duport-Dutertre 
were slaughtered, and along with them the Generals Houchard, Custine, Biron, 
Beauharnais, and a crowd of others. Buzot and Petion struck at their own 
lives. Madame Roland died on the scaffold ; her husband slew himself on the 
highway when he received the intelligence. All the Girondists who fled w^ere 
outlawed. Two hundred thousand suspected persons were thrown into prison ; 
the towns flowed with blood ; the chateaux, convents, and churches were 
destroyed; the monuments of art were overthrown; the land was uncultivated, 
and famine added to the scourges which tortured the unhappy nation. Public 
credit was annihilated ; and the public expenses were provided for by the sale 
of the property of proscribed persons, and by despotic measures originating in 
necessity and sustained by terror. 

It was resolved to consecrate so unexampled a revolution by the esta- 
blishment of a new era. The division of the year was changed, as were also 
the names of the months and days, and the Christian was replaced by the 
republican calendar. The new era was made to date from the 22d of Septem- 
ber, 1792, the period of the foundation of the republic ; the year was divided 



304 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 




TRIAL OP DA.NTON AND HIS FRIENDS. 



into twelve equal months of thirty days ; the five remaining days of the year 
received the name of sans-culottides, and were consecrated to genius, to labour, 
to actions, to rewards, and to opinion. In a short time Hebert and Chaumette, 
two chiefs of the commune, prevailed on the Convention to decree the abolition 
of the Christian religion, November 10, 1793. The worship of Reason was 
substituted in its place, and the church of Notre Dame at Paris was profaned 
by being converted into a temple of atheism. Gobel, the constitutional bishop 
of Paris, and several other ecclesiastics were compelled publicly to apostatize 
their faith, and plunder and sacrilege of every kind were committed in the 
Catholic churches. 

The revolutionary tyrants were divided into three parties. The committee 
of Public Safety, at the head of which stood Robespierre, supported by the 
club of the Jacobins, governed wdth absolute power. Hebert, Chaumette, 
Anacharsis Clootz, a Prussian, and the other members of the Commune, formed 
a second party, more violent than the first, but contemptible from the character 
of the individuals who composed it. The third comprehended Danton and his 
friends, who stood in awe of Robespierre, and wished to put an end to the 
reign of violence. Robespierre used each of the other parties to accomplish 
his ends. By a temporary union wdth the Dantonists, he annihilated the faction 
of the Commune. Hebert, Chaumette, Clootz, and the other anarchist chiefs 



THEREIGNOFTERROR. 305 

were all arrested, condemned, and executed without a show of courage. 
(March 24, 1794.) After this, Robespierre found little difficulty in sending 
Danton and his friends to the scaffold. Arraigned before the revolutionary 
tribunal, they distinguished themselves by their boldness and the scorn they 
exhibited towards their judges. As he was dragged to death, Danton ex- 
claimed, "I drag Robespierre. . . . Robespierre follows me." They 
advanced with firmness to the place of execution, amid a silent multitude. 
From that moment no voice was for some time raised against the decemvirs, 
and the Convention proclaimed that terror and all the virtues were the order of 
the day. 

For a period of four months, the power of the committees was exercised 
without restraint ; and death became the sole instrument of government. At 
Nantes, in Arras and Orange, the proconsuls Carrier, Lebon, and Maignet dis- 
tinguished themselves by unheard-of atrocities. At Paris, among the most 
illustrious victims of that period may be mentioned the Marshals De Noailles 
and De Maille, the ministers Michaud and Laverdi, the learned Lavoisier, the 
venerable Malesherbes and his family, D'Epremenil, Thouret, and Chapelier, 
all members of the Constituent Assembly, and finally, the angelic sister of Louis 
XVL, Madame Elizabeth. "The more the body social perspires," said Collet 
d'Herbois, '<the more healthy it becomes." Robespierre and Saint Just 
announced their intention to establish the reign of virtue. They associated 
with them Couthon, and the three formed together a terrible triumvirate in the 
very heart of the committee, a triumvirate which prepared its own ruin by its 
very isolation. Robespierre knew that social order, to be such, must rest upon 
a religious foundation. He therefore caused the Convention to declare that the 
French nation recognised the existence of a God, and the immortality of the 
soul ; and subsequently to dedicate festivals to the Supreme Being and to some 
of the virtues. Regarded by his followers as the chief founder of a moral 
democracy, he attained supreme power, and the day of the "Festival of the 
Supreme Being" was a perfect triumph for him. As president of the Conven- 
tion, he marched at its head, alone and twenty paces in advance of the rest. 
He was the object of universal notice : his face radiant with joy and pride, and 
carrying flowers and ears of corn in his hand, he approached the altar, where 
he harangued the people like a high-priest. (20th Prairial — 9th June.) On 
the very next day, 21st Prairial, Robespierre caused Couthon to propose an 
execrable law, which refused defenders to accused persons, ordered them to be 
tried in mass instead of singly, and prescribed to juries no law save that of 
their conscience. It was adopted, yet Fouquier Tinville, the public accuser, 
and the judges his accomplices, members of the revolutionary tribunal, could 
hardly keep pace with the number of the proscribed. Fifty persons were daily 
dragged to execution in Paris alone. The scaffold was removed to the Fau- 
bourg St. Antoine, and a conduit was constructed to receive and carry off the 
blood of the martyrs. 

Under this system had commenced the campaign of 1794. The Austrians 
hal marched against the towns on the Somme, and Pichegru, with fifty thou- 
VoL. in. 39 2 c 2 



306 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

sand men from the army of the north, had projected the conquest of Belgium. 
He penetrated into Flanders, supported on the right by Moreau, whilst Jour- 
dan, at the head of the army of the Moselle, directed his march against 
Charleroi to effect a junction with the army of the north. The Austrians, in 
alarm, abandoned their positions, Pichegru defeated the Duke of York and 
Clairfait at Courtrai and at Hooglede ; while Jourdan beat the Prince of Coburg 
at Fleurus, and the Netherlands were invaded in all directions. With the 
army of the Rhine, Hoche drove Brunswick and Wurmser before him across 
the river at Philipsburg. These successes delivered Belgium into the hands 
of the republicans, whose armies occupied the left bank of the Meuse, and all 
the towns along the Rhine except Manheim and Mayence. The French arms 
were triumphant alike in the north and in the south. Dugommier and Moncey 
promptly repaired some reverses early sustained on the Spanish frontier, drove 
the Spaniards out of France, and penetrated into the peninsula, where Moncey 
took possession of Saint Sebastian and Fontarabia. 

Wearied out with the atrocities which disgraced the republic at home, 
several of the Mountainists resolved to bring them to a close. Tallien, Bour- 
don de I'Oise, and Legendre headed this party ; they were supported by Collot 
d'Herbois and Billaud-Varennes, who were jealous of the triumvirs, in the 
committee of Public Safety, and by Vadier, Voulant, and Amar in the committee 
of General Welfare. Robespierre had determined on their destruction, and it 
was necessary to be beforehand with him, or be his victims. In a session of 
the Convention held on the 9th Thermidor, (27th July,) when Robespierre had 
come thither to terminate the contest. Saint Just ascended the tribune. He 
was interrupted by Tallien and Billaud, who commenced the attack. Robes- 
pierre rushed forward to reply, but the cry of " Down with the tyrant !" and 
the bell which the president Thuriot rang without intermission, prevented his 
being heard. Tallien denounced him as another Cromwell, and threatened to 
pierce his heart with a poniard which he waved in his hand. He procured a 
decree for the arrest of Henriot, the commander of the armed force, and a 
declaration of the Assembly that its sitting was permanent. Barrere caused it 
to place itself under the protection of the armed sections. "Now let us return 
to the tyrant!" said Tallien, and he attacked him still more warmly. Robes- 
pierre had repeatedly attempted to speak, had ascended and descended the 
steps of the tribune ; but his voice was always drowned by cries of "Down 
with the tyrant !" and the ringing of the president's bell. At length, in a mo- 
ment of silence, he cried, "President of assass-ins, wilt thou suffer me to speak?" 
The bell sounded again. Storming like a madman, he flew from bench to 
bench of the Assembly, and addressed himself with supplications to the mem- 
bers of the right, who turned from him with loathing. At length he fell back 
in his seat, exhausted with fatigue and foaming at the mouth. "Wretch!" 
said a Mountainist, " the blood of Danton chokes thee." His arrest was 
forthwith proposed ; his brother and Lebas demanded to share his fate. The 
Assembly ordered that they should be seized with Couthon and Saint Just, and 
delivered into the hands of the gens d'armes. 



THE REIGN OF TERROR. 



307 



But the victory was yet undecided. Tlie centre of Robespierre's power 
was in the ckib of the Jacobins ; hence he was secure of the support of the 
lower orders, whilst Fleuriot, mayor of Paris, Henriot, and the revolutionary 
tribunal were his creatures. The municipal deputies repaired to their assem- 
bly, and Henriot, until his arrest, traversed the street, sabre in hand, shouting to 
arms. In the evening the insurgents were in the ascendant ; they marched in 
a body on the prisons and delivered Robespierre, Henriot, and their accom- 
plices. Henriot immediately caused the Convention to be surrounded, and 
pointed the cannon against it. Terror reigned within ; but their imminent 
danger inspired them with courage. Henriot was outlawed ; his gunners 
refused to fire, and fell back with him upon the Hotel de Ville. This refusal 
decided the issue of the contest. The Convention resumed the offensive, 

attacked the Commune, and outlawed its 
rebel members. Barras was named com- 
mander-in-chief of the armed force, the bat- 
talions of the sections swore to defend the 
Assembly, and defiled in the chamber before 
it, animated by Freron. " Set forward, lest 
day appear before the heads of the conspira- 
tors are stricken off," said Tallien to the 
chief of the civic force. It was midnight 
when the armed bands marched against the 
Commune, whither Robespierre had been 
borne in triumph, and where he now sat 
motionless and paralysed by terror. The 
place in front of the Hotel de Ville was filled 
with detachments of the National Guard, 
attached to the cause of the insurgents, com- 
panies of cannoniers and squadrons of gendarmerie, and a multitude of indi- 
viduals partially armed. The troops of the Convention marched with their 
cannon in silence, sustained in courage by the grandeur of their mission. 
Leonard Bourdon, who led the attack as assistant to Barras, caused the decree 
which outlawed Robespierre and his associates to be read to their supporters, 
the greater part of whom immediately came over and arrayed themselves with 
the forces of the Convention. Bourdon still hesitated to advance, the rather 
as a report had been spread that the Hotel de Ville was undermined, and that, 
rather than surrender, its occupants would blow it and themselves into the air. 
Meanwhile, every thing in the Hotel de Ville was in a state of the utmost 
agitation. Irresolution, contradictory resolutions prevailed. Robespierre had 
never wielded a sabre ; Saint Just had dishonoured his ; Henriot, almost 
drunk, knew not what to do. The municipal guards, well accustomed to 
march to commit crimes, were stupified when they found themselves the object 
of attack. All seemed to expect death, without having energy enough to strive 
to avert it by securing victory. Payen read to the conspirators the decree of 
outlawry, and artfully included the names of all those in the gallery who were 




TALLIEN. 



308 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

applauding their proceedings. The ruse was successful ; these noisy supporters 
made haste to put themselves beyond the reach of danger, and the galleries 
were soon quite empty. The partisans of Robespierre at once received a melan- 
choly proof how completely they were deserted. Henriot in consternation de- 
scended the stairs to harangue the cannoniers, upon whose fidelity every thing 
now depended. All had disappeared ; the place was deserted, and in their stead 
Henriot perceived only the heads of the columns of the National Guard advanc- 
ing in battle array. He reascended with terror in his looks and imprecations in 
his mouth ; he announced the total defection of the troops ; — instantly terror and 
despair took possession of that band of assassins ; every one turned his fury on 
his neighbour ; nothing but mutual execrations could be heard. Some tried to 
hide themselves, others to escape. Coffinhall, maddened by a transport of rage, 
seized Henriot in his arms, and exclaiming, <' Vile wretch! your cowardice 
has undone us all !" threw him out of the window. A dunghill on which he 
fell so broke his fall as to preserve his life for the punishment which he so richly 
merited. Lebas took a pistol and blew out his brains ; Robespierre tried to 
imitate him ; his hand trembled ; he only broke his jaw and disfigured himself 
in the most frightful manner. St. Just was found with a poniard in his hand, 
which he had not the courage to plunge into his bosom. Couthon crawled 
into a sewer, from whence he was dragged by the heels ; the younger Robes- 
pierre threw himself from a window, but survived his fall.* The Convention- 
alists, however, effected an entrance into the Hotel de Ville, traversed its 
deserted apartments, seized the conspirators, and conveyed them in triumph to 
the Assembly. Robespierre was ordered to be carried to the Place de la 
Revolution. He was placed for some time at the committee of General Safety 
before he was conveyed to the Conciergerie. There, stretched upon a table, 
with a bloody and disfigured countenance, subjected to the view, to the invec- 
tives, and to the curses of the spectators, he beheld the different parties 
rejoicing over his fall, and upbraiding him with the crimes he had committed. 
He displayed great insensibility to the excessive pain which he experienced. 
He was conducted to the Conciergerie, and was thence brought before the 
revolutionary tribunal, which, on proof of his identity and that of his accom- 
plices, sent them to tlie scaflfbld. On the 10th Thermidor, (28th July,) about 
five o'clock in the evening, he ascended the death cart, placed between Hen- 
riot and Couthon. His head was bound up in a bloody cloth, his face was 
livid, and his eye almost sightless. An immense crowd pressed round the 
cart, giving the strongest and most noisy demonstrations of joy. They con- 
gratulated and embraced each other, came near to obtain a better view of him, 
and loaded hini with imprecations. The gens d'armes pointed him out with 
their swords ; as for himself, he appeared to regard the crowd with pity ; Saint 
Just surveyed it with an unmoved eye; the others were more dejected. Robes- 
pierre was the last who ascended the scaffold ;t his head fell amidst the most 
enthusiastic applause. France breathed once more : the Reign of Terror w -^ 
over. 

* Histoire de la Convention Nationale. Alison. f Mignet. 



DESTRUCTION OF THE JACOBINS. 



309 




E BEFORE '. 11 . 



Mir TEE OF PUBLIC SAFETY. 



The partisans of the system of terror were still numerous and powerful in 
the bosom of the Convention itself, as well as in Paris and in all France, and 
two new parties were formed ; that of the committees, who leaned for support 
on the club of the Jacobins and on the faubourgs, and that of the Thermidore- 
ans, which included the Mountainists who had contributed with Tallien to the 
victory of the 9th Thermidor, and who relied for support on the majority of the 
Convention and the armed sections. For a time the Tail of Robespierre, as 
the remaining terrorists were called, seemed more difficult to tame than he 
himself, but moderation gradually obtained the ascendant, its rule was consoli- 
dated by the death of the infamous public accuser, Fouquier Tinville, and of 
Carrier and Lebon, the exterminators who had ruled at Nantes and Arras. In 
his journal, Freron summoned the youthful population to take up arms against 
the terrorists, and accordingly the young men of the middling classes, distin- 
guished by the title of the <-<-jeimesse dorte^'' traversed the streets in strong 
bodies, armed with loaded bludgeons, and carrying on a war of extermination 
against the Jacobins, That club was attacked and taken, after a desperate 
resistance ; its doors were closed, and Paris resembled one great battle-field. 
The deputies who had been proscribed for protesting against the insurrection 
of the 31st of May were recalled into the Convention, the decrees for expulsion 
of the nobles and priests were rescinded, public worship restored, the maximum 
suppressed, and the statue of Marat in the hall of session broken in pieces. 
But other evils arose. The assignats became almost valueless ; very many 
families were ruined ; the farmers avenged themselves for the oppression they 



310 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

had suffered by hoarding up provisions ; famine stalked through the land, and 
the lower orders sighed after the system which had given them food as well as 
power. Billaud-Varennes, Collot d'Herbois, Barrere, and Vadier had been 
condemned to transportation and sent to the chateau of Ham, together with 
seventeen turbulent members of the Mountain, who had been concerned in an 
insurrection to procure their release. A second insurrection, (12th Germinal — 
1st April, 1795,) was not more successful, and a third was organized on a 
formidable scale. (1st Prairial — May 20th.) The populace of St. Antoine and 
St. Marceau assembled together and formed a mass of 30,000 souls. The hall of 
session became for a time a scene of violence and warfare, but the Convention 
triumphed by the aid of the battalions of the sections. Some leaders and six 
of the Mountainists were condemned to death, and the dominion of the popu- 
lace was destroyed. The Jacobin rule was ended. 

The progress of the arms of the republic was not affected by the fall of the 
terrorists. Pichegru conquered Holland ; Prussia, threatened by the repub- 
licans, concluded a peace at Basle ; and Spain, in which the French had ren- 
dered themselves masters of many places, ended the war by a treaty, 
exchanging for these the Spanish portion of Saint Domingo. Piedmont was 
subdued and Italy invaded. In La Vendee, the English admiral Bridport, 
after a naval victory over Villaret-Joyeuse, landed an army of emigrants on the 
peninsula of Quiberon, but they were routed and made prisoners by Hoche, 
and the survivors murdered by Tallien. 

The Convention now attempted to put an end to the revolutionary condi- 
tion by a constitution, whose fundamental elements were a legislative body, 
composed of two elective chambers ; one of which, the cinq-cents, or five hun- 
dred, was to have the originating of the laws, and the other, the anciem or 
elders, composed of men of judgment and experience, was to be invested with 
a veto. The executive power was to be lodged in the hands of a council of 
five persons, called Directors, clothed wdth an authority greater than that which 
the constitution of 1791 had given to the king. These latter were nominated 
by the anciens on the presentation of the council of cinq-cents. Each of the 
directors presided for a period of three months, and during tliat time affixed 
the signatures and kept the seals. Each year the Directory was renewed by 
one-fifth ; it had a guard and the palace of the Luxembourg for its residence. 
In order that the reactions of public opinion might not deprive the party of the 
Convention of a majority in the new councils and the consequent nomination 
of the directors, they decreed that two-thirds of the members of the Convention 
should be re-elected. This arbitrary decree produced in Paris the revolt of the 
11th Vendemiaire, (3d October.) The Convention, in alarm at the popular 
commotion, declared its sittings permanent, summoned around it the camp of 
Sablous, and made the first attack. But General Menou, who headed the 
Conventional troops, allowed himself to be out-generaled, and his expedition 
produced the same effect as a victory of the sectionaries. Barras was then 
chosen by the Convention to provide for its defence. A young officer, who 
had in reality commanded the troops under General Dugommier at the siege 



NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 



311 



of Toulon, but who had been cashiered by the counter-revolutionist Aubry, 
was, at the request of Barras, appointed to be second in command. A man 
of skill and resolution, young Bonaparte, was well qualified to command in this 
dangerous emergency. He appeared before the committee, but displayed none 
of the astonishing qualities which were so soon to distinguish him. Little of a 
party man, and summoned for the first time upon this great scene, his counte- 
nance wore an expression of timidity and bashfulness, which immediately 
vanished in the bustle of preparation and the ardour of battle. He sent Murat 
in haste for the artillery of the camp. Murat arrived at the park in the middle 
of the night with some hundreds of horsemen, and brought the guns to Bona- 
parte, who placed them in the avenues leading to the Tuileries, and loaded 
them with grapeshot. He had five thousand men of the Conventional army, 
and these he disposed with the guns, to await the attack of the enemy. The 
insurgents, who had forty thousand men under arms, commanded by Generals 
Danican, Duhoux, and Lafon, very soon surrounded the Convention. Admitted 
to a parley in the Assembly, Danican summoned the Convention to withdraw 
the troops and disarm the terrorists. The deliberations on this demand were 
suddenly brought to an end by the report of several discharges of musketry. 
Seven hundred muskets were brought into the Convention, and the members 
armed themselves as a body of reserve. 

The battle commenced in the street St. Honore, and speedily became 
general. The cannon vomited forth their grapeshot, shivering the ranks of the 

citizens, who dispersed after a desperate 
effort to charge the guns. They left two 
thousand of their number upon the battle- 
ground. According to Bonaparte's ac- 
count, the whole fighting lasted less than 
two hours. At seven in the evening the 
Conventional troops assumed the offensive 
and were everywhere victorious. On the 
following day they disarmed the section 
Lepelletier, and reduced all the others to 
obedience. In the hall of the Convention, 
Barras frankly told his colleagues that they 
were indebted to General Bonaparte's 
prompt and skilful dispositions for their 
own security and the freedom of their 
deliberations. The Assembly acknow- 
ledged Bonaparte's services by felicita- 
tions and acclamations, and appointed him General of Division and second in 
command of the army of the interior ; Barras retaining nominally the chief 
command, which, however, he soon after resigned on being appointed member 
of the executive Directory, and made it over to his protege, whom he familiarly 
styled the little Corsican officer. This victory gave the Convention leisure to 
occupy itself with the formation of the councils. Barras was chosen to be one 




B A K R A S . 



312 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

of the directors, on account of his conduct in July and October, (Thermidor 
and Vendemiaire ;) the others were Lareveillere Lepaux, whose probity, mode- 
ration, and courageous conduct had gained him universal confidence ; Sieyes, 
the man of greatest reputation in his time ; Rewbell, a person of great activity 
in the administrative department of the state ; and Letourneur, a man of con- 
siderable political eminence. Sieyes, however, declined to make one of the 
Directory ; and Carnot, whose political honesty and able conduct had saved 
him when the committees fell, was honoured with an appointment to the vacant 
seat. On the 26th of October, (4th Bruraaire,) 1795, the Convention passed 
an act of oblivion, as a first measure of the government of the law ; changed 
the name of the Place de la Revolution to that of Place de la Concorde, and 
declared its session at an end. 

It had endured three years, from the 21st of September, 1792 — a frightful 
period, in which the violence of the different factions converted the revolution 
into a war, and the house of Assembly into a field of battle. Each party 
struggled for victory in order to obtain the ascendency, and endeavoured to 
effect the establishment of its own system in order to secure it. The 
Girondists, the Mountainists, the party of the Commune, and that of Robes- 
pierre successively tried and perished. They obtained victories, but they 
could not establish their systems. A natural consequence of such a state 
of affairs was the ruin of every party that attempted to restore peace and 
order. Every thing was provisional, power, men, parties, systems ; be- 
cause one thing, and one thing only, was possible — that thing was war. A 
whole year from the time it had regained its authority was necessary to 
enable the Convention to restore the nation to the dominion of the law, 
an object finally effected only by the victories of May and October. The 
Convention had now returned to its starting point, having effected its real 
design, the protection and consolidation of the republic. After having asto- 
nished the world, it disappeared from the scene : a revolutionary power, it 
began to exercise its functions the instant that order and the authority of 
the law ceased, and it finished its career the instant that order and the autho- 
rity of the law returned. Three years of dictatorship had been lost to liberty, 
but not to the revolution.* * 

The first care of the directors was to establish their power by honestly 
adopting the constitutional path. In a short time confidence, trade, and com- 
merce were restored, and the clubs began to be abandoned for the workshops 
and the fields. The period was distinguished by great license of manners, 
which the voluptuous director Barras was the first to encourage. The rich, 
however, were still the victims of violent and rapacious measures. The wants 
of the republic were so great and pressing that the government had recourse to 
a forced loan for a supply. It then created territorial ma?idats, which were to 
be employed in drawing the assignats out of circulation, at the rate of thirty 
for one, and in performing the office of a currency. They had the advantage 

* Miffnet. Bonnechose. 



NAPOLEON'S FIRST CAMPAIGN. 313 

of being instantly exchangeable for the national domains which they repre- 
sented, and furnished a momentary resource to the state. Subsequently, how- 
ever, they fell into discredit ; and their depreciation led to a bankruptcy of the 
enormous amount of thirty-three thousand millions. In Paris, the Directory 
was the object of violent attack by both democrats and royalists, and several 
futile attempts were made to overthrow their power. 

At the commencement of the Directory, the military affairs of France had 
become less prosperous than before. Pichegru, who meditated plans of restoring 
royal authority, had opened communications with the Prince of Conde, and 
conducted his operations without success. War had broken out afresh in La 
Vendee, the English threatened a descent upon the coast of France, and the 
army of Italy, wanting in every thing, stood feebly on the defensive under 
Scherer and Kellermann. The valiant Hoche was intrusted with the command 
of the army in the west, and he displayed the most profound ability in the 
conduct of the war. He defeated Charette and made him prisoner, and Stofflet 
was betrayed into the hands of the republicans. They were both shot, one at 
Nantes, the other at Angers, displaying the utmost fortitude in the hour of 
death. Georges Cadoudal and some other chiefs renewed the war in Brittany; 
but the victorious Hoche speedily conquered them also ; the leaders submitted 
or tied to England ; and the Directory announced to the councils the termina- 
tion of the civil war, July 17. 

Pichegru was superseded in the command of the army of the Rhine by 
Moreau ; Jourdan retained that of the army of the Sambre and the Meuse ; and 
Carnot formed a plan of campaign by which these two armies w^ere to march 
upon Vienna, in conjunction with the army of Italy. The command of this 
last army was given to Bonaparte, then twenty-six years of age. His eagerness 
to commence operations drew upon him some remonstrances. It was suggested 
to him that there were many things wanting in his army necessary to the cam- 
paign. " I have enough," said he, <' if successful, and too many should I be 
beaten." He quickly arrived at Nice, and signalized the period of his taking 
command, March 27, by planning one of the boldest invasions. The army of 
Italy had hitherto achieved nothing ; it was destitute of every necessary and 
numbered scarcely thirty thousand men ; it had only courage and nationality ; 
and with these the youthful hero boldly commenced a career which will ever 
excite the surprise of the world, and which for upwards of twenty years was 
crowned with success. He broke up the cantonments, and made preparations 
in the valley of Savonne for the purpose of entering Italy between the Alps and 
the Apennines. Before him were ninety thousand troops, the centre of which 
was under the command of Argenteau, the left under that of Colli, and the 
right under that of Beaulieu. By prodigious efforts of courage and genius, this 
immense army was dispersed in a few days. At Montenotte, Bonaparte over- 
threw the enemy's centre and forced his way into Piedmont ; at Millesimo he 
effected the complete separation of the Austrian and Sardinian armies, which 
severally hastened to the defence of Milan and Turin, the capitals of their 
dominions. At Mondove the fate of Piedmont was decided, and the court of 
Vol. III. 40 2 D 



314 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

Turin signified its submission. A peace was speedily concluded between' the 
King of Sardinia and the republic. The occupation of Alexandria, the key of 
Lombardy ; the demolition of the fortresses of Suze and Brunette at the back 
of France ; the abandonment of Nice and of Savoy ; and the release of the other 
army of the Alps, under Kellermann, were the fruits of a campaign of fifteen 
days and of six victories. 

Bonaparte next marched against the Austrians, determined to allow them 
no respite. He passed the Po at Placenza, and the Adda at Lodi. The bridge 
over the latter river at Lodi was held by a strong rearguard, consisting of twelve 
thousand Austrian infantry and four thousand horse, while the remainder of 
their forces had retired to Cassano and the neighbourhood of Milan. Bona- 
parte arrived at Lodi at the head of the grenadiers of D'Allemagne, drove the 
enemy from the town, and drew up his grenadiers in close column under cover 
of the houses at his end of the bridge. He directed Beaumont with all the 
cavalry of the army to pass the stream at a ford half a league higher up, and 
when he found that they had commenced their passage, addressed a few 
animating words to his soldiers and gave the signal to advance. Twenty can- 
non at the Austrian end vomited grapeshot upon the column as it moved along 
the extended and narrow defile of the bridge, shouting " Vive la Republique.^^ 
The storm of death from the cannon checked the advance for a moment, but 
the grenadiers finding themselves supported by the tirailleurs, who were wading 
the stream below the arches, were ashamed to desert the gallant commanders 
who led them. They rushed forward with resistless fury, carried the Austrian 
guns, and drove back their infantry. Lannes was the first who reached the 
other side. Napoleon himself the second. Beaumont pressed gallantly with his 
horse upon the flank, and Napoleon's infantry forming rapidly as they passed 
the bridge and charging on the instant, the Austrian line became involved in 
confusion, broke, and fled. They lost two thousand men and twenty pieces 
of cannon. By this daring measure it was intended to cut oflf the rearguard 
of the Austrians ; but though it failed in the accomplishment of that object, it 
nevertheless contributed to elevate the courage and exalt the character of the 
republican troops, by inspiring them with the belief that nothing could resist 
them. At the time when the young general assumed the command, his old 
soldiers felt somewhat distrustful of him, which led to their meeting after each 
of his great successes to confer upon him a new step of promotion. He was 
made a corporal at Lodi, and the surname of the little corporal, thence acquired, 
has ever since been remembered. The victory of Lodi opened the gates of 
Milan and put him in possession of Lombardy. Beaulieu was driven into the 
passes of the Tyrol, and the republican army invested Mantua and appeared 
upon the mountains of the empire. A new Austrian army, under Wurmser, 
joined the wreck of the vanquished one, and shared its fate. After being 
defeated, Wurmser succeeded in throwing himself into Mantua. Bonaparte 
renewed the siege with redoubled vigour. 

Meanwhile, the two armies of the Meuse and the Rhine advanced into 
Germany, driving the enemy before them. The success of their invasion, 



ARC OLA. 317 

however, was lost by an error of Jourdan. The armies had almost achieved 
the object of their enterprise, Moreau having entered Ulm and Augsburg, 
crossed the Leek, and pushed his vanguard to the last pass of the Tyrol, when 
Jourdan imprudently advanced beyond the line. His army was in conse- 
quence broken and routed by the Archduke Charles ; and Moreau, finding his 
left flank uncovered, retreated methodically and leisurely through the Black 
Forest, passed the defiles without confusion or loss, and debouched into the 
valley of the Rhine rather in the attitude of a conqueror than that of a fugitive. 
The Archduke Charles, however, defeated him at Emmendingen, drove him 
from Hohenblau, and forced him to cross the Rhine. He then besieged the 
fortresses of Kehl and Huningen, but the French defended them until the end 
of the campaign, and finally, when all resistance was hopeless, capitulated, 
leaving the enemy masters of heaps of ruins. 

The cabinet of Vienna attempted to relieve Wurmser and Mantua, by 
sending to Italy General Alvinzi at the head of fifty tViousand Hungarians. The 
Austrian superiority of numbers was such that only the most masterly exertions 
of Napoleon could prevent them from sweeping every thing before them in the 
plains of Lombardy. A severe but undecisive rencontre took place at Vicenza, 
and the position of the French general was eminently critical. He attacked 
the heights of Caldiero without success ; and then, by a bold and hazardous 
movement, threw himself between Alvinzi and his colleague Davidowich, in 
the morasses near Areola. The unsafe nature of the ground and the narrowness 
of the dykes, by which alone he could advance to Areola, would render victory 
difficult and defeat disastrous. He divided his men into three columns and 
charged by the three dykes leading to Areola, but these narrow passes were 
obstinately defended. Augereau headed the first column that reached the 
bridge of Areola, but was there driven back with great loss. Bonaparte threw 
himself on the bridge, seized a standard, and urged his grenadiers to renew 
their charge. But the fire was tremendous and the French gave way. Napo- 
leon, lost in the tumult, was borne backwards, forced over the dyke, and had 
nearly been smothered in the morass, whilst some of the enemy were already 
between him and his retreating troops. His imminent danger inspirited the 
troops more than his fearless example had done; the cry of <' Save the general!" 
was raised ; the soldiers rushed forward with irresistible violence, overthrew 
the Germans, plucked Bonaparte from the bog, and carried the bridge. This 
was the first battle of Areola, and was fought on the 15th of November. On 
the succeeding day both armies manoeuvred in such a manner as to render 
another attack upon Areola necessary. Again it was bravely defended and 
more bravely won. But the result of the battle was indecisive. Alvinzi 
remained unbroken in the difficult country behind, and Napoleon retreated. 
On the third day, however, the Austrians were routed, and Alvinzi retreated 
finally upon Montebello. A fourth army had been baffled, yet the Austrians, 
always greatest in the time of misfortune, diligently forwarded new levies, 
so that Alvinzi soon found himself at the head of 60,000 troops. (January 7. 
1797.) 

2d2 



318 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

Napoleon had received but seven thousand recruits to replace all his losses 
in the last two campaigns. He however marched against the main body under 
the command of Alvinzi himself, and on the 14th of January, 1797, gained a 
great victory at Rivoli, where Joubert and Massena particularly distinguished 
themselves. Alvinzi retreated into the Tyrol ; Bonaparte, leaving Joubert to 
pursue him, hastily returned with reinforcements to Mantua, the siege of which 
Provera was attempting to raise with another division of the Austrian forces. 
Bonaparte, however, compelled him to surrender with 5000 of his men, and 
Wurmser also determined to capitulate. Lombardy was thus placed wholly in 
his hands, and the Pope, who had incurred the resentment of the French 
republic, was suffered to remain nominal master of some shreds of the patri- 
mony of St. Peter, after a war which lasted nine days. The troops of the 
pontificate had been kept in check while the Austrians were being punished 
by the troops of two republics, which Bonaparte had organized in Northern 
Italy, the Cispadane and the Transpadane, handmaids rather than sisters of that 
of France.* 

To repeat the story of the campaign against the archduke, were to recite 
a tale already several times told. Fettered by the Aulic council, Charles was 
compelled to execute a plan which his own wisdom condemned, while Napo- 
leon, who had triumphed by activity when obliged to act on the defensive, 
exhibited no less skill and vigour when he himself acted as the assailant. The 
archduke, defeated on the banks of the Tagliamento, retreated, defending the 
country inch by inch ; in a campaign of twenty days he fought ten battles with- 
out success, and then resolved to fall back upon Vienna, and with all the loyalty 
of the nation make a last stand beneath its walls. But the Austrian councillors, 
terrified at the news of the defeat on the Tagliamento and the subsequent 
reverses, ordered the archduke to negotiate a peace. Charles accordingly 
opened a correspondence, which ended in the provisional treaty of Leoben. 
(April 18, 1797.) 

This settled. Napoleon abandoned further negotiations to other diploma- 
tists, and hastened to pour out his wrath upon the Venetians, who had com- 
menced warring against the French. The doge and the senate had heard that 
the archduke had shared the fate of Beaulieu, Wurmser, and Alvinzi, and they 
hastened to send offers of submission. " French blood has been treacherously 
shed," said Napoleon ; " the lion of St. Mark must lick the dust." In the 
height of the confusion occasioned by his answer, Bonaparte appeared on the 
opposite coast of the Lagoon, and some of his soldiers were already in the city 
when the senate submitted wholly. The conqueror dictated the severest terms. 
After an independent existence of more than a thousand years, Venice was 
blotted out of the list of nations. Its territory was soon afterwards divided ; 
France kept the lUyrian isles, and ceded the city itself, with Istria and Dalma- 
tia, to Austria. Mantua, the Bolognese, and Romagna were added to the 
Cisalpine republic. The release of Lafayette and his companions in misfortune 

* Mignet. Alison. Lockhart. Bonnechose. 



EXPEDITION TO EGYPT. 319 

was also stipulated for. Such was the treaty, glorious for France, to which has 
been given the name of the peace of Campo Forraio. By the congress of Ras- 
tadt peace was also imposed on the empire. All the confederated powers had 
laid down their arms except England, and she was desirous of entering into 
negotiations for peace. The coalition could be little disposed again to attack 
a revolution, every administration of which had been victorious ; a revolution 
which, at every fresh hostility, encroached farther on European territory. In 
1792 it had only extended to the Netherlands ; in 1794 it had advanced to 
Holland and as far as the Rhine ; in 1796 it had overrun Italy and penetrated 
into part of Germany ; and it was probable that, were its march resumed, it 
would achieve more distant conquests. 

But the situation of the Directory was considerably altered by the elections 
of May, 1797, which returned none but counter-revolutionists or equivocal 
constitutionalists. The councils immediately attacked the administration and 
policy of the Directory. Emigrants and refractory priests returned in great 
numbers, and took no pains tjo conceal their design of overturning it. The 
Directory on their part determined to break up the authority of the councils, and 
caused several regiments from the army of Hoche to approach the capital. The 
councils broke out into furious menaces, and the Directory retorted by threaten- 
ing addresses from the armies. Carnot and Barthelemy vainly attempted to 
restore harmony. A plan was formed by which the councils might obtain the 
victory. Pichegru was to execute it. Promptness and boldness were neces- 
sary to success ; Pichegru hesitated — not so the Directory. Barras, Rewbell, 
and Lareveillere appointed the morning of the l8th Fructidor for the final 
struggle. On the evening preceding, the troops stationed round Paris entered 
that city under the command of Augereau, who had come from the army of 
Italy. The business was completed between four and six o'clock in the morn- 
ing. With his own hand Augereau arrested Pichegru, Willot, and Ramel in 
the hall of session, and as the members of the council came hastily to the hall, 
they were either arrested or refused admittance. Augereau informed them that 
the Directory had appointed the place of meeting of the Ancients in the Odeon, 
and that of the Five Hundred in the School of Medicine. Forty-two members 
of the Five Hundred, eleven of the Ancients, and two Directors, Carnot and 
Barthelemy, were condemned to be transported to Cayenne. The authors of 
thirty-five journals were also sacrificed ; the laws in favour of priests and emi- 
grants were repealed, and the elections for forty-eight departments annulled. 
The l8th Fructidor ruined the royalist party, revived that of the republicans, 
taught the army the secret of its strength, and substituted a dictatorship for the 
authority of the law. Carnot and Barthelemy were replaced by Merlin de 
Douai and Francois de Neufchateau. Bonaparte soon after came to Paris and 
was granted such honours as had never been paid to any other general. 

Notwithstanding the neutrality observed by the Porte, the Directory 
determined to send an expedition to invade Egypt. Bonaparte was assigned 
to the command of it, and gladly entered upon his duties, as they afforded him 
a favourable opportunity for adding to his renown and his popularity; although, 



320 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 




BONAPARTE S A R B I V A L IN EGYPT. 



in regarding it as an honourable exile, he united with the Directory, who felt 
reassured by the absence of one whom they dreaded. He departed from 
Toulon with a fleet of four hundred sail, and accompanied by a large body of 
the most learned men of France. On his way he took possession, through the 
treachery of the knights, of the island of Malta, and then made sail for the 
coast of Egypt. He was pursued by a powerful British fleet, under Nelson, 
who sailed from Toulon to Egypt in a straight course, and arrived off" the Nile 
before the French ships had appeared there. Bonaparte learned oflT Candia 
that Nelson was already in the Levant, and therefore ordered Admiral Brueyes 
to steer not for Alexandria, but for another point of the coast of Africa. Nelson 
meanwhile turned back and traversed the sea in search of him to Rhodes and 



OPERATIONS IN SWITZERLAND AND ITALY. 321 

then to Syracuse. On the night of the 20th June the fleets passed each other 
undiscovered ; ahhough for several hours they were but a few leagues distant 
from each other. Napoleon, thus favoured, reached the Nile on the first of 
July, and the troops were landed in boats at Marabout, about a mile and a half 
from Alexandria. 

Domestic troubles in Switzerland had afforded the Directory a pretext for 
interfering with the affairs of that country ; Berne, which had given refuge to 
many French emigrants, was the object of the first attack. The Swiss defended 
themselves with courage and obstinacy, but canton after canton fell, Geneva 
w^as united to France, and the other cantons formed into a republic of the new 
kind, the Helvetic, nominally the sister and ally, really the slave of that of 
France. The French general Duphot had been killed in a riot at Rome ; in 
revenge General Berthier took possession of that city, 1799, made Pope Pius 
VI. prisoner, and was ordered to convey him to France. He was eighty-four 
years of age, however, and the fatigues and terrors of the journey caused him 
to die on the way. Rome was converted into a republic, and the Directory 
saw itself at the head of the Helvetic, Batavian, Ligurian, Cisalpine, and 
Roman republics, all modelled after that of France. After the revolution of 
the 18th Fructidor, the Directory had to struggle at home against the general 
discontent, as well as against the disordered state of the finances, and the 
intrigues of the republicans, who were found to be not less hostile than the 
royalists. This party would have effected a counter-revolution, but the Directors 
by a stretch of power annulled the elections of 1798. By attempting to oppose 
violence by violent means, however, they were fast losing the support of public 
opinion. 

Meanwhile the English minister, Pitt, persevering in his active hatred 
against France, had formed a new coalition, into which all the European 
powers except Prussia and Spain had entered. The French plenipotentiaries 
were suddenly ordered to quit Rastadt, and within a few hours afterward they 
were murdered on their journey by Austrian hussars; Jean Debry alone escaping 
after being left for dead. 'I'he Directory determined on vengeance, and by 
bringing military conscription into action, raised an army of two hundred 
thousand young soldiers. The King of the Two Sicilies commenced hostilities 
by expelling the French from Rome. (Nov. 24, 1798.) That enterprise was 
quickly punished. After three days' slaughter of the lazzaroni. General Cham- 
pionnet got possession of Naples, and proclaimed the Parthenopean republic, 
January 25, 1799. Joubert took possession of Turin, and when the new cam- 
paign opened, the whole of Italy was in the hands of the French. The coali- 
tion, however, soon began to push forward its formidable armies through Italy, 
Switzerland, and Holland, and the aspect of the war was changed. An army 
of Austrians and Russians, headed by the great Suwarrow, overthrew succes- 
sively Scherer, Moreau, and Macdonald in Italy. The confederates, under the 
Archduke Charles, who had defeated Jourdan,then directed their efforts against 
the barrier of Switzerland, and the Duke of York in Holland headed an Austro- 
Russian army of 40,000 soldiers. The small republics which shehered France 
Vol,. III. 41 



322 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

were invaded, and after some new victories the enemies of France were enabled 
to penetrate to the very seat of the revohition. In the midst of these disasters 
occurred the elections of May, 1799, which, like those of 1798, were repub- 
lican. Rewbell retired from the Directory, and Sieyes, its most determined 
opponent, became his successor. The animosity of the councils was chiefly 
directed against Treilhard, who was expelled from the Directory on pretext of 
informality in his election, and Merlin de Douai and Lareveillere, who, aban- 
doned by Barras, resigned their places. General Moulins and Roger-Ducos 
succeeded them, and Sieyes laboured thenceforth to get rid of the disorganized 
government of the constitution, supported by Roger-Ducos in the Directory, by 
the Ancients in the council, and by the army and middle classes. By means 
of the army and some chief of great military reputation he hoped to insure 
the success of his plans, and Bonaparte seemed to him the fittest instrument. 

The campaign of that general in Egypt had been scarcely less brilliant 
than those in Italy. He stormed Alexandria and gave it up for three hours to 
military violence and rapine ; a lesson which struck terror to the hearts of the 
natives and deterred them from answering to the summons of their military 
chiefs. But the Mamelukes, a body of cavalry independent of the Porte and 
of sovereign authority in Egypt, oppressed that country at the time of his land- 
ing, and opposed a gallant resistance to his arms. In the first conflict, at 
Chebreissa, Bonaparte was the conqueror. The second, the ever-memorable 
victory of the Pyramids, amply repaid the French for the sufferings and fatigues 
of a two weeks' march over the burning sands and in the presence of light 
bodies of the finest cavalry in the world. The Mamelukes advanced to the 
encounter; "Soldiers," said Napoleon, "from the tops of yonder pyramids 
forty centuries look down upon you," and the battle began. Formed in sepa- 
rate squares, the French were immovable ; the Mamelukes, with impetuous 
speed and wild cries, assaulted them in vain ; every means practised to force 
a passage into the ranks of their new opponents proved futile ; they rushed on 
the line of bayonets, backed their horses upon them, and in desperation dashed 
their pistols and carbines in the very faces of the men, but the squares were 
unbroken ; the planted bayonet and the incessant roll of the musketry told fear- 
fully upon their numbers. At last Bonaparte advanced upon their camp ; they 
abandoned their works in confusion and terror, and threw themselves by hun- 
dreds into the Nile. Multitudes who were drowned increased the loss by car- 
nage. Mourad and a remnant of his Mamelukes retired on Upper Egypt, 
Cairo surrendered, and Lower Egypt was entirely conquered. The name of 
the French general spread terror throughout the East, and the "Sultan Kebir," 
or King of Fire, as he was thenceforth called, was considered as the scourge of 
God, whom it was hopeless to resist. 

While Bonaparte thus elevated to the highest pinnacle the military glory 
of France, the great Admiral Nelson inflicted a deep wound upon her maritime 
power by the famous " conquest of the Nile." Admiral Brueyes having impru- 
dently anchored the French fleet in the bay of Aboukir, Nelson daringly attacked 
it with an inferior force. The battle was obstinate ; it lasted more than twenty 



THE BATTLE OF THE NILE. 



325 




H .\ r I' L E O F I 



hours, including the whole night of the first of August. A solitary pause occurred 
at midnight, when the French admiral's ship L'Orient, a vessel of 120 guns, 
blew up in the heart of the conflicting squadrons, with an explosion that shook 
every vessel like an earthquake, and for a moment silenced rage in awe. 
Brueyes himself perished. Next morning two shattered ships out of all the 
French fleet escaped into the open sea ; the rest of their array had been 
destroyed or had fallen into the hands of the English. More than three thou- 
sand French seamen perished, the best fleet of the republic was destroyed, the 
blockade of the coast was established, and Bonaparte, isolated from France, 
was compelled to rely w^holly on his own arms and the resources of Egypt.* 

" To France," said Napoleon, " the fates have decreed the empire of the 
land — to England that of the sea ;" and he accommodated himself to the deci- 
sion. After relieving from subjection the Christians called Copts, establishing 
an institute at Cairo, and quelling an insurrection which was raised against him 
in that city, he set out for the conquest of Syria, intending from thence to pene- 
trate into India and strike the English at the root of one of the sources of their 
power. After traversing sixty leagues of burning desert, he reached Gaza, 
which opened its gates. Jaffa was carried and St. Jean d'Acre invested. But 
Sir Sidney Smith had captured the vessels which carried the heavy artillery and 
stores of Napoleon from Egypt, and being now intrusted by the Pasha with the 
defence of Acre, he turned them to his own account. During sixty days 



Lockhart. 
2E 



326 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 

Bonaparte exhausted all the resources of military science in his endeavours to 
obtain possession of this fortress, but the gallant Englishman defended it with 
equal skill and better fortune. The French were surrounded by hosts of Turks, 
but they were defeated at Nazareth by Junot, and by Bonaparte in the cele- 
brated victory of Mount Tabor. Seventeen furious assaults had been made 
upon the town without success, the plague had broken out in the army, and a 
Turkish fleet bearing succours to the garrison was at hand. Yielding therefore 
to stern necessity, Bonaparte raised the siege and returned to Egypt. At Cairo 
he learned the alteration in the situation of the Directory. The Chouan or 
civil war in the west and south had again broken out ; Italy except Genoa was 
lost ; Joubert had been killed at the bloody battle of Novi, gained by Suwarrow, 
and Brune and Massena with difficuUy opposed the march of the enemy through 
Holland and Switzerland. This intelligence determined him to repair to France 
and overthrow the Directory. He was preceded by the news of another 
brilliant victory. An army of eighteen thousand Turks landed in the bay of 
Aboukir ; Bonaparte fell upon it and annihilated it. Immediately afterwards 
he set out for France, leaving Kleber in command of the army of Egypt ; 
crossed the Mediterranean in the frigate Le Mucron, escaped as by miracle the 
English fleet, and landed in the Gulf of Frejus, on the 9th of October, 1799, 
immediately after the celebrated victories of Zurich and Berghen, gained, the 
first by Massena over the Austrians, and the other over the Duke of York by 
Brune. Bonaparte traversed France not so much like a general who had quitted 
his post without orders, as a victorious sovereign returning to restore the lost 
hopes and fortunes of a people who confided only in him. 

At Paris he received proposals from the moderate party, headed by Sieyes, 
and the democrats, led by Barras, both of whom desired his assistance. He 
decided on closing with those of the former, as less likely to interfere with his 
measures when the new government — his government — should be established. 
Having come to an understanding, Sieyes and the victorious general imme- 
diately applied themselves to the overthrow of the constitution. With this 
view the generals, whh the exception of Bernadotte, were gained over, as was 
also the garrison of Paris. On the l8th Brumaire — 9th November, 1799, — 
Regnier, one of the conspirators, procured a declaration from the council of the 
Ancients that the legislative body should be transferred to Saint Cloud, that its 
deliberations might there be more free than in Paris. The execution of this 
measure was intrusted to Bonaparte, who was invested for the occasion with 
the command of the division of Paris. This placed him at the head of the 
military power : the authority of the Directory and the legislative councils still 
existed. Sieyes and Roger-Ducos proceeded from the Luxembourg to the 
legislative and military camp of the Tuileries and delivered their resignations. 
The other Directors attempted to use their authority and secure the protection 
of their guard, but the latter refused obedience. Barras then sent in his resig- 
nation and set out for his estate of Grosbois. The Directory was virtually dis- 
solved and but one antagonist remained. 

On the 19th Brumaire the legislative body repaired to St. Cloud, accompa- 



BONAPARTE EXPELS THE COUNCIL. 327 

nied by an armed force. As soon as the session of the Five Hundred opened, 
a motion made by one of the conspirators became the signal for a violent 
tumult, which ended in all taking the oath of allegiance to the republican con- 
stitution. Should this occur also in the council of the Ancients, Bonaparte 
would be deserted and defeated. He therefore repaired to the chamber of 
that body, and when summoned to take the oath to the constitution, he declared 
that it no longer existed ; that it was the watchword of all factions, and had 
been violated by all ; that being no longer respected, it must be replaced by 
another compact and other guarantees. The council approved his address, and 
he attempted by his presence to appease the stormy council of Five Hundred. 
But his presence, and the sight of the bayonets in the hands of the grenadiers 
whom he left at the door, impressed the members with the fear of military 
violence, and they all joined in the cry, "Outlaw him! down with the dictator!" 
Fearless before the fire of an enemy, the great chieftain was disconcerted by 
the menaces of a deliberative assembly: he turned pale, became perturbed, 
retired, and was borne off by the grenadiers who had served him for an escort. 
The tumult continued to rage in the chamber, where Lucien, the brother of 
Napoleon, was president, and attempted his defence. But the outlawry of the 
tyrant was on all sides called for, and Lucien quitted the chair, divested him- 
self of the insignia of his office, and was carried out of the chamber by a guard 
sent for that purpose by Napoleon. Sieves, who was better able to conduct 
a revolution than himself, advised a resort to force. Both brothers harangued 
the troops, the one as president of the Assembly, the other as conqueror of 
Italy and Egypt ; and when Napoleon demanded, " Soldiers, can I depend 
upon you ?" " Yes, yes," resounded on all sides. Bonaparte immediately 
ordered the council of Five Hundred to be expelled from their chamber. 
Murat led a troop of grenadiers into the hall. " In the name of General Bona- 
parte the legislative body is dissolved. Let all good citizens retire. Grena- 
diers, advance !" The shouts of indignation which arose in answer to this 
pithy proclamation were drowned in the rolling of the drums : the grenadiers 
advanced with presented bayonets along the whole length of the hall, the 
deputies flying before them and escaping by the windows, amid shouts of Vive 
la Republique ! That republic no longer existed but in name. 








CHAPTER XV. 



fii ti e €: © n 3 n a a 1 1? a « I t fjn? C « k i r ?. 



OLITICAL events now advanced with a more steady 
march. On the 13th December, 1799, the new consti- 
tution was announced. The republican forms were 
preserved, and the government in appearance was 
intrusted to a council of three persons, appointed for 
ten years and decorated with the title of Consuls. 
These were Bonaparte, Cambaceres, and Le Brun. 
The other bodies were a Conservatory Senate, contrived 
by Sieyes to be the guardian of the public liberties, a 
tribunal of one hundred members, whose business it 
was to discuss such forms of law as the government laid before them, and a 
legislative body of three hundred members, who gave their vote without any 

(328) 




NAPOLEON PASSES THE ALPS. 331 

previous debate. Bonaparte seized the reins of government with a firm hand, 
abrogated several of the revokitionary laws, amalgamated its different parts into 
a system, and by degrees organized the most complete monarchical power. 
By his orders peace was concluded with the Vendeans and the Chouans in the 
West, and the affection of the people conciliated by the restoration of religion, 
which he effected by means of a Concordat with the court of Rome, July 15, 
1801. He was no sooner placed at the head of the government than he pro- 
posed to make peace with England by means of a letter, addressed, contrary 
to diplomatic etiquette, to King George III. himself. But Pitt was determined 
to employ all the resources of England to overthrow the despotism which the 
Fij'st Consul was establishing in France. 

General Melas, at the head of the Austrian troops, opened the campaign 
of 1800 in Italy in the most splendid manner. In consequence of the victory 
which he gained over Massena at Voltri, April 10, the latter was obliged to 
throw himself into Genoa, where he sustained a siege of six weeks with great 
courage ; fifteen thousand of the unfortunate inhabitants of the city being said 
to have perished by famine or disease during the blockade. Melas left General 
Ott with thirty thousand men before Genoa, and marched against the division 
under Suchet. He entered Nice and prepared to pass the Var and penetrate 
into Provence. Then it was that Bonaparte came to restore the fortunes of 
France, in pursuance of a plan which he had sketched, which is considered as 
the most daring and masterly of the campaigns of the war, and which, so far 
as the execution depended on himself, turned out also the most dazzlingly 
successful. He assembled a very contemptible force at Dijon, which was 
named as the rendezvous of the army of reserve for the relief of Genoa, and as 
the Austrians had intelligence of this body only, they listened to the project of 
the re-establishment of the glorious army of Italy with derision. But Napoleon 
had spent three months in recruiting armies throughout the interior of France, 
and the troops were already marching by different routes, each ignorant of all 
the others' destination, upon the territory of Switzerland. When all w^as ready, 
he set out to take the direction of affairs from the hands of Berthier, who, how- 
ever, retained the nominal command. At Dijon he went through the ceremony 
of a mock review to deceive still further the Austrians, and thence went imme- 
diately to Geneva. Marescot presented him with an appalling picture of the 
difficulty of passing by the Great St. Bernard into Italy. "Is it possible to 
pass?" said Napoleon, abruptly. "The thing is barely possible," was the 
answer. "Very well — let us proceed," said the First Consul, and an army, 
horse and foot, laden with all the munitions of a Campaign, a park of forty 
field-pieces included, were urged up and along the airy ridges of rock and 
eternal snow, where the goatherd, the hunter of the chamois, and the outlaw 
smuggler are alone accustomed to venture ; amid precipices where to slip a 
foot is death ; beneath glaciers where the percussion of a musket-shot is often 
sufficient to hurl an avalanche ; and across bottomless chasms caked over with 
ice or snow-drift. The guns were dismounted, grooved into the trunks of trees 
hollowed out so as to suit each calibre, and then dragged on by sheer muscular 



332 THE CONSULATE AND THE EMPIRE. 

strength — a hundred soldiers being sometimes harnassed to a single cannon. 
The descent was scarcely less perilous and difficult than the ascent, and 
their advance was suddenly checked by the fort of Bard, which commanded 
completely the valley of Aosta. But the great skill of the French engineers 
and the inflexible will of the Consul overcame this obstacle, the capture of 
Ivrea by Lannes followed, and the whole army, thirty-six thousand strong, was 
assembled there on the twenty-eighth of May. Lannes gained a victory at the 
.bridge of Chiusilla, about the same time that Melas made an ineffectual attempt 
to force the passage of the Var. Learning the truth concerning the army of 
reserve, he set about concentrating his forces. Massena, whose soldiers had 
eaten their shoes and knapsacks, and had nothing whatever left to devour, at 
length surrendered Genoa, but only on condition of being suffered to proceed 
with arms, ammunition, and baggage to join General Suchet. Meanwhile 
Milan had been taken and the Cisalpine republic restored in form, Ott, coming 
to the aid of Melas with the force left disposable by the taking of Genoa, was 
defeated in a terrible battle at Montebello by Napoleon's advanced guard under 
Lannes, who covered himself with glory. (June 9th.) Five days after this 
victory, the First Consul finally crowned his brilliant expedition by the glorious 
victory of Marengo. The Austrians were completely routed. Unable to force 
the passage of the Bormida by a victory, they were now without the power to 
retreat, placed between thear-my of Suchet and that of the First Consul. On 
the 15th they obtained permission to retire beyond Mantua, on condition 
of surrendering all the towns in Piedmont, Lombardy and the papal 
dominions. Thus, in a campaign of forty days, Bonaparte again obtained 
possession of all Italy. Eighteen days after the battle of Marengo he returned 
to Paris. 

The war with the Chouans had apparently ceased, but it was followed by 
conspiracies. Bonaparte escaped, as if by a miracle, the explosion of an 
t< infernal machine" in the Rue St. Nicaise, the authors of which were royalists, 
though Fouche, the minister of police, at first attributed the attempt to the 
democrats. One hundred and thirty of the latter were transported by decree 
of the senate ; but the real conspirators were afterwards discovered and special 
military tribunals created for their trial. The despotic tendency of Bonaparte's 
measures in regard to this affair led to a separation between him and the con- 
stitutional party. Moreau had conducted the war in Germany with great skill. 
His victories there, particularly that of Hohenlinden, accelerated the conclusion 
of peace; which was signed at Luneville, on the 8th January, 1801, betw^een 
France, Austria, and the Empire. Rome, Naples, Sardinia, Portugal, Bavaria, 
and Russia made treaties, and the treaty of Amiens, signed on the 25th of 
March, 1802, by England, Spain, and the Batavian republic, completed the 
pacification of Europe. 

Freed from foreign cares. Napoleon attempted to subject the island of St. 
Domingo, and an army of 40,000 men was sent thither under General Le Clerc ; 
but sickness made havoc in the ranks, and the island was given up as lost. 
Egypt had in the preceding year been conquered by the English. Bonaparte 



NAPOLEON MADE EMPEROR. 333 

endeavoured to establish his power in France by linking it with the prosperity 
of the state. The roads, ports, and arsenals attracted his attention and occu- 
pied his care. At Flushing and Antwerp he ordered immense maritiijie works, 
reorganized the polytechnic school, developed the resources of trade, promoted 
commerce, and declared himself the protector of private interests. A civil 
code which was now propounded, and published in 1804, was a monument of 
genius and became the model of legislation throughout Europe. He founded 
the order of the Legion of Honour and declared himself its head. His consul- 
ship was prolonged for ten years more, then decreed to him for life, 2d August, 

1802. A new constitution was established, which stripped the people of all 
remains of power, and the council of state, reconstructed by Bonaparte, 
received a more vigorous organization and more extensive attributes. The 
war with England was renewed, in consequence of mutual aggressions in June, 

1803. England called all her naval force into action, and seven French 
armies occupied respectively Italy, and the camps of Bayonne, St. Malo, St. 
Oraer, Bruges, Boulogne, and Holland. 

About the same time, a second and formidable conspiracy against the life 
of the First Consul was discovered. Pichegru, Georges Cadoudal, Moreau, 
and other royalists were at its head. Cadoudal was punished with death, 
Moreau banished, and Pichegru strangled in prison. The Duke d'Enghien, 
the most amiable of the Bourbon princes, being believed to be concerned in 
this conspiracy, was seized in the territory of Baden, hurried to the castle of 
Vincennes, tried by a military commission, and shot. 

This conspiracy and the war with Great Britain contributed to assist Bona- 
parte in elevating himself from the consulate to the empire. The senate 
addressed him, praying that he would govern the nation under the name of 
Napoleon Bonaparte and with the title of hereditary Emperor. Napoleon 
assented ; the empire was proclaimed and the constitution correspondingly 
changed. Pope Pius VII. came to Paris and consecrated the new dynasty 
with all the ancient usages, in the church of Notre Dame, 2d December, 1804. 
Joseph and Louis Bonaparte were made French princes, and eighteen marshals 
of the empire were created. 

To emulate the career of Charlemagne now became the great object of 
Napoleon's ambition. With this view he added the title of King of Italy to 
that of Emperor of the French, apparently at the instance of the representatives 
of the Cisalpine republic. At Milan he put on his head the iron crown of 
Lombardy, and appointed his stepson, Eugene Beauharnois, viceroy of Italy. 
Genoa and Lucca were also added to the empire. Repassing the Alps, he 
returned to Paris, and shortly afterwards set out thence for Boulogne, where he 
was preparing a maritime expedition against England. Alarmed by his ambi- 
tion, Pitt, who after an intermission had again resumed the direction of the 
affairs of that country, organized a new coalition between England, Russia, 
Austria, and Sweden. (1805,) Bonaparte received intelligence that two 
hundred and twenty thousand Austrians were advancing in three bodies 
towards the Rhine and the Adige, and that two hosts from Russia were on 



334 



THE CONSULATE AND THE EMPIRE. 




BATTLE OF A. U S T E B L I T Z . 



the march to join them. He quitted Boulogne, passed the Rhine on the 1st of 
October, and advanced into Germany with one hundred and sixty thousand 
men, while Massena opposed the Archduke Charles in Italy. The Danube was 
crossed and Bavaria occupied. His marshals emulated the Emperor in bold- 
ness and success. Murat triumphed at Vertingen, Dupont at Hasslach, and 
Ney at Echlingen. General Mack was surrounded and compelled to surrender 
with thirty thousand men at Ulm ; in consequence, the gates of Vienna flew 
open, and Napoleon entered that city on the 13th of November. The Emperor 
Alexander in person had assembled the Russian army in Moravia, and its 
numbers were swelled by Austrian divisions to 80,000. Napoleon led his 
soldiers to meet this new enemy, who, he told them, " had been brought from 
the ends of the world by the gold of England." He further stimulated the 
ambition of his troops by informing them that the Russian infantry bore the 
highest character, and that the question was then to be settled whether the 
infantry of France was the first or the second in Europe. The question was 
decided at Austerlitz. The French had eighty thousand men under arras ; the 
allies ninety-five thousand. The battle was commenced at sunrise, December 
2d, 1805, and by one o'clock in the day the most brilliant victory ever gained 
by Napoleon, and that in which his military genius shone forth with the 
brightest lustre, had completed the campaign. The loss of the allies was im- 
mense. Thirty thousand men were killed, wounded, or taken prisoners, a 
hundred and eighty pieces of cannon, four hundred caissons, and forty-five 
standards remained the trophies of the victor's triumph. The Emperor issued 



BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. 335 

a congratulatory address to his army on the following day. " Soldiers, I am 
content with you. You have decorated your eagles with immortal glory. 
When every thing necessary to secure the happiness and prosperity of our 
country is obtained, I will lead you back to France. My people will again 
behold you with joy ; and it will be enough for one of you to say, < I was at 
the battle of Austerlitz,' for all your fellow-citizens to exclaim, ' There is a 
brave man.' In terror at this dreadful overthrow, the Emperor Francis sued 
for an armistice, which was granted, and the Russians, who might have been 
destroyed, obtained permission to retire by a prescribed route and in a given 
time. The battle of Austerlitz was followed by the peace of Presburg, by 
which Austria ceded Dalmatia and Albania to the kingdom of Italy, and a great 
number of its possessions to the electorates of Bavaria and Wurtembei^, which 
were erected into kingdoms. Joseph Bonaparte was seated on the throne of 
Naples, and his brother Louis was made King of Holland. The kings of Wur- 
temberg and Bavaria, the Grand-duke of Berg, and other sovereigns of the 
west of Germany, were now associated into a grand alliance, under the style 
of the <*' Confederation of (he Rhine." Napoleon added to his other titles that 
of Protector of this confederation, and the princes of the league were bound to 
place 60,000 soldiers at his command. The fairest Germanic provinces were 
thus transformed into so many departments of the all-engrossing empire of 
Napoleon ; Francis declared the imperial constitution at an end, and retained 
the title of Emperor as sovereign of his own hereditary dominions.* 

But the year 1805, so fruitful in triumphs for France on the continent, 
beheld likewise the ruin of her navy. The combined fleets of France and 
Spain under Admiral Villeneuve, beaten on the 22d of July at Cape Finisterre, 
also lost on the 21st of October the celebrated battle of Trafalgar. This victory, 
which marks the proudest day in the annals of the British navy, was gained 
after one of the sternest contests by Lord Nelson, who took nineteen ships of 
the line and rendered seven of those which escaped into Cadiz unserviceable. 
Four French ships fled from the action, escaping only to be captured a few days 
afterwards. This victory, though it annihilated the French and Spanish marine, 
was dearly purchased by the loss of the unconquerable Nelson, who fell mor- 
tally wounded early in the action. 

Previous to the battle of Austerlitz, Prussia had 150,000 men under arms, 
but the conduct of the court of Berlin was extremely vacillating. Napoleon 
viewed her with enmity and distrust, and said, when congratulations on his 
victory were sent by the King of Prussia, " Here is a message, the address of 
which has been altered by circumstances." He resolved upon a war with the 
Prussians, but at this moment purchased her quiescence by a bribe, the posses- 
sion of Hanover, the hereditary territory of the royal family of England, which 
■the house of Brandenburg did not hesitate to accept. But Pitt having died, 
and Fox succeeding to the control of English affairs. Napoleon ineflfectually 
renewed negotiations for peace, in the course of which he offered the restora- 

* Alison. Lockhart. 



336 THE CONSULATE AND THE EMPIRE. 

tion of Hanover. This, with other causes, induced Prussia to rush into a war 
with as much precipitation as she had shown reluctance in the Austrian cam- 
paign. The forces of the Prussian king invaded Saxony and compelled the 
elector to join his troops with theirs; but the French were quickly in motion 
under their beloved Emperor. Napoleon turned the wing of his enemy, got 
into his rear, and destroyed Naumberg, the chief place of deposit for the 
Prussian stores and magazines, and thus reduced the astonished and isolated 
king to the necessity of cutting his way through the enemy to his own frontier. 
He led one division in person ; the command of the other was given to Mol- 
lendorf ; the conduct of the whole being confided to the Duke of Brunswick. 
The former moved towards Naumberg, and was met by Davoust at Auerstadt ; 
that of Mollendorf attempted to force a passage through the French line near 
Jena. On the 14th of October, the battles of Jena and Auerstadt were fought. 
Lannes, Augereau, Soult, and Murat carried destruction into the enemy's ranks 
at Jena, broke up their army completely, and drove them, horse and foot pro- 
miscuously mingled in the confusion of panic, along the road to Weimar. 
There the fugitives met their terrified brethren flying as confusedly as themselves 
from the bloody and disastrous field of Auerstadt. On one day Prussia lost 
twenty thousand of her troops, three hundred guns, twenty generals, and sixty 
standards. The routed divisions roamed about the country, seeking to escape, 
but everywhere falling into the hands of the enemy an easy prey. Mollendorf 
was captured at Erfurt ; Kalkreuth's corps in the Hartz mountains ; Eugene 
of Wurtemberg and 16,000 men at Halle; Hohenlohe with 20,000 at Prenzlow, 
and Blucher with his corps, after a severe action at Lubeck, surrendered at 
Schwerta. Spandau, Stettin, Custrin, Hamelen, Magdeburg, Berlin — all fell; 
Louis Bonaparte conquered to the Weser, Jerome Bonaparte subdued Silesia ; 
the Poles were excited to rise. The Prussian monarchy was almost annihilated, 
and its conqueror, after visiting the tomb of the great Frederic and taking pos- 
session of his sword, marched against the Russians into Poland. On the 7th 
of February was fought, with equal loss on both sides, the bloody battle of 
Eylau : in that of Friedland, which occurred on the 14th of June, the Russians 
were crushed. After this memorable day, Alexander entered into a negotiation, 
and peace was concluded at Tilsit, July 7th. By this pacification, Saxony and 
Westphalia, augmented by great portions of the Prussian territory, were erected 
into kingdoms, and the latter given to Jerome Bonaparte ; and the confedera- 
tion of the Rhine was extended to the Elbe. 

England continued to resist Napoleon, who strove to force her to terms by 
annihilating her commerce with Europe. On the 21st of November, 1806, he 
had issued from Berlin the famous decree, creating the continental system, de- 
claring the British islands in a state of blockade, and extending the seizure of 
British merchandise to every Englishman found on the territory of France, or 
those of the countries she had conquered, or of the states which acknowledged 
the dominion of her allies. This decree disturbed all Europe, and involved 
Napoleon in a series of violent measures and gigantic operations which even- 
tually occasioned his downfall. 



W A R I N S P A I N A N D P O R T U G A L. 337 

England, determined to preserve a footing on the coasts of the Baltic, 
demanded of Denmark an alliance, offensive and defensive, and as a guarantee 
the delivery of her fleet and capital. The king refused compliance, and an 
expedition highly discreditable to England was sent, without a declaration of 
war, to bombard Copenhagen and carry off the Danish navy. This iniquitous 
and barbarous violence caused Denmark to adhere to the continental system, 
and Russia followed her example. Alexander and the Danes then assaulted 
Sweden, the ally of England ; Gustavus, her sovereign, giving evidences of 
insanity in his conduct, was dethroned, and succeeded by his uncle. The 
entire shores of the Baltic submitted to the French yoke. Some months before 
the Ottoman Porte was at war with Russia and an ally of Napoleon ; the Eng- 
lish had attempted to subdue it, but without success. But a single state in 
Europe now acknowledged the direct influence of Great Britain. That state 
was Portugal ; and Napoleon, who had assumed the right of disposing of the 
destinies of nations, signed at Fontainebleu, September 27, 1807, a treaty with 
Spain, by which Portugal was to be entirely shared between the King of Etruria 
and Godoy, Prince of Peace, who governed the Spanish monarchy ; Charles 
IV. of Spain being acknowledged as Suzerain of the two new states. A pro- 
clamation announced that " the house of Braganza had ceased to reign," Dec. 
13, 1807 ; Junot, with twenty-eight thousand French, carried the sentence into 
execution. The prince-regent of Portugal fled to Brazil. The kingdom of 
Portugal secured, intrigues were set on foot in Spain. Ferdinand compelled 
Charles IV., his father, to abdicate in his favour; but a French army under 
Murat entered Madrid, and the aged king protested against his involuntary 
abdication. " Napoleon alone must decide between the father and the son," 
said Murat, and the Emperor came to Bayonne as arbiter. The royal claim- 
ants also came thither at his summons; Napoleon, master of their persons, first 
decided for the father, and then compelled him to abdicate in his own favour. 
The crown was transferred to Joseph Bonaparte, whose kingdom of Naples 
was given to Murat. But the Spaniards flew to arms in the cause of Ferdinand 
VII. ; the French fleet at Cadiz was compelled to surrender, as also the army 
of Dupont at Baylen. Portugal revolted, and an English army landed there 
under Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterwards Duke of Wellington. Junot, with only 
ten thousand men, risked a battle against twenty-six thousand English and 
Portuguese at Vimiera. He was beaten, and shortly afterwards signed the 
convention of Cintra, which left him at liberty to return to France with honour. 
(1808.) 

Determined to subdue Spain, Napoleon strengthened his alliance with 
Alexander by negotiations at Erfurt, in September and October, 1808, and then 
marched into the peninsula at the head of a large array of veterans. His pre- 
sence quickly changed the aspect of affairs. His eagles triumphed at Burgos, 
Espinosa, and Tudela ; and Madrid opened again her gates to Joseph. Sir 
John Moore had arrived with large reinforcements and taken the command of 
the English troops : he advanced as far as Salamanca, but was obliged to 
retreat. At Corunna he fought a battle with Soult, for the purpose of covering 
Vol. III. 43 2 F 



338 



THE CONSULATEAND THE EMPIRE. 




WE LLINGTON. 



the embarkation of his troops ; he fell in the action, January 16, 1809; but 
Soult was repulsed, and the English gained their ships in safety. Encouraged 
by the resistance of the Spaniards, the court of Vienna again resolved on war, 
and hostilities were commenced in Bavaria. Davoust, with an inferior force, 
held the Archduke Charles in check with great difficulty. Napoleon flew to 
the Rhine, triumphed at Eckmuhl and Ratisbon, and entered a second time as 
conqueror the capital of Austria. On the 22d of May, 1809, the bloody and 
indecisive battle of Essling was fought on some islands in the Danube. Here 
the Emperor sustained a severe loss in the death of the brave Lannes. His 
fall was speedily avenged, however, by the terrible overthrow of the enemy 
at Wagram, where twelve hundred pieces of cannon swept the ranks of the 
hostile armies. The vanquished Francis was constrained to purchase peace by 
the sacrifice of additional territory. Pope Pius VII. had given countenance to 
the enemies of France, and threatened Napoleon with the thunders of the 
Vatican. The French entered Rome ; the Pope realized his menace by a bull; 
he was dethroned from his temporal sovereignty and consigned to captivity, 
while Rome was made the capital of a French department. During this cam- 
paign a formidable army was landed by the English ministry in Holland, but 
the expedition proved abortive. Under the mild and paternal sway of Louis 
Bonaparte, the kingdom of Holland had become, notwithstanding the decrees 
of Napoleon, an entrepot of British merchandise, and the Emperor, who would 



THE PENINSULAR WAR. 339 

brook neither hesitation nor opposition, dethroned his brother and incorporated 
the kingdom with the empire, which extended from Hamburg and Dantzic to 
Trieste and Corfu. Napoleon, who had hitherto followed an inflexible policy, 
committed a great error in deviating from it by contracting a second marriage. 
He divorced Josephine in order to give an heir to the empire, and married 
Maria, archduchess of Austria, March 30, 1810. Thereby he gave up his 
character of a self-raised and revolutionary monarch, who was labouring in 
Europe against the ancient courts, as the republics had done against the ancient 
monarchies; and placed himself in an awkward position relative to Austria, 
which he ought either to have crushed after the victory of Wagram, or to have 
restored to its former dignity and possessions after the marriage with the arch- 
duchess. While he neither deprived Austria of the power nor the desire of 
continuing her enmity towards him, he changed the character of his empire 
and separated it from the popular interests ; he sought for ancient families to 
grace his court, and he did all in his power to blend the original nobility with 
that of his own making, as he had already done with the old and new dynasties. 
Austerlitz had confirmed the plebeian empire ; Wagram was to establish the 
noble empire. The birth of a son in March, 1811, who received the title 
of King of Rome, seemed to give solidity to the empire of Napoleon by 
assuring him of a successor. 

During the years 1809, I8l0, and 1811, the war in Spain was pushed 
with vigour. Sebastiani triumphed at Cuidad-Real, Victor at Medelin, and 
Soult at Oporto, where twenty thousand Portuguese were left on the field of 
battle. Saragossa was besieged with success, but so valiantly was it defended 
by Palafox that twenty thousand of its garrison and inhabitants perished beneath 
its ruins. Still the Spaniards fought with energy and enthusiasm, and the Eng- 
lish ably seconded their efforts. Joseph and Wellesley fought on the 28th of 
July the indecisive battle of Talavera, which the English, however, celebrated 
as a victory. Sebastiani triumphed on the 21st of August at Almonacid, Mor- 
tier with twenty-five thousand men overthrew fifty thousand Spaniards at Ocana, 
November 19, Andalusia was open to the French, yet Spain was unsubdued. 
In 1810, Granada, Malaga, and Seville were occupied by the French ; but 
Cadiz, now the seat of government, was secured against them. Massena sus- 
tained the war in Portugal against Wellington, whose army was greatly superior 
to that of the French ; but the success of the campaign was compromised by a 
misunderstanding which arose between Massena and Ney. The French com- 
mander, however, marched upon the capital; but he was beaten at Busaco, 
and his progress was finally arrested in December by Sir Arthur Wellesley 
before the formidable lines of Torres Vedras, which covered Lisbon. After a 
month's inaction he fell back to Santarem, closely followed in his retreat by 
the allies. A sharp action occurred at Fuentes d'Onoro, where Massena was 
worsted ; and the allies in consequence gained possession of the town of 
Almeida. Badajoz having been captured by Mortier, Sir W. Beresford laid 
siege to it. Soult advanced with 23,000 men to raise the siege ; the allies, to 
the number of 26,000, gave him battle at Albuera, May 16, and were victorious. 



340 



THE CONSULATE AND THE EMPIRE. 




M A.S S E N A. 



Wellesley, now the Duke of Wellington, renewed the siege, but retired across 
the Tagus on the approach of Soult and Marraont. In Andalusia, the British, 

under General Graham, gained a 
victory over the French at Barrosa. 
The French, however, had the ad- 
vantage in the north of Spain, and 
Wellington, at the close of the cam- 
paign, retired again to his lines in 
Portugal. In 1812 the operations 
of the combatants were resumed 
with spirit. Wellington reduced 
Cuidad Rodrigo, and Badajoz. 
Salamanca also fell, and Marmont 
was defeated in its vicinity, July 22. 
Madrid, Seville, and Valladolid 
were recovered by the English, but 
Wellington failed in an attack on 
Burgos. 

Russia, meanwhile, had become 
weary of a supremacy to which she 
aspired herself; shut up within her 
own limits, she remained without influence and without acquisitions, suffering 
all the evils of a blockade without sharing in the spoils. This state of things 
could not be expected to continue. After the year 1810, the cabinet of Russia 
augmented its armies; in 1811 it renewed its commercial relations with Great 
Britain, and Napoleon declared war, June 22d, 1812. The project of the Em- 
peror was to reduce Russia by the creation of the kingdom of Poland, as he 
had reduced Austria by the kingdoms of Bavaria and Wirtemberg, after Aus- 
terlitz, and Prussia by those of Saxony and Westphalia, after Jena. The 
re-establishment of the kingdom of Poland was proclaimed by the diet of War- 
saw, but in an incomplete manner, and Napoleon wishing to terminate the war, 
according to his custom, in a single campaign, advanced into the heart of 
Russia instead of prudently organizing the Polish barrier against it. On the 
24th of June he passed the Niemen and took possession of Wllna and Witepsk. 
He fought the Russians at Ostrowno, Polotzk, Mohiloff, Swolensk, and at the 
Moskowa, and made his public entry into Moscow on the 14th of September. 
But he was astonished at the solitude which reigned within its walls ; all the 
streets were deserted by their inhabitants. The conqueror entered unresisted 
the ancient citadel of the Kremlin, and rejoiced that his army had found an 
asylum from their fatigues and sufferings. He found immense resources within 
the city, and here, therefore, he resolved to establish his winter quarters. But 
during the night a frightful conflagration broke out. Rostopchin, the -Russian 
governor, had determined, on evacuating the city, to make an immense sacrifice 
for the salvation of his country. At an appointed signal by his order, a band 
of convicts spread themselves throughout the city, with firebrands in theii 



B U R N I N G O F MO S C W. 341 

hands. They applied the flames to a thousand places ; Moscow crumbled 
away in a few hours, leaving the Emperor master of a heap of cinders and 
ruins. Alexander detained him there forty days with offers of peace. At 
length the negotiations were broken off and Napoleon commenced his retreat. 
" Your day of warfare is ended," said the old Russian general Kutusoff ; " ours 
is to begin." The winter set in suddenly and with more than usual vigour, 
even in the heart of Russia. The French, paralysed by the cold, were pursued 
and harassed in their retreat by innumerable enemies, and their frozen and 
mangled bodies covered the road. They marched, however, in tolerable order 
as far as the Beresina, which they crossed in the presence of three Russian armies. 
Here again were achieved prodigies of heroism ; but nearly half the army 
perished before the formidable barrier was cleared. The cold setting in afresh, 
the moral as well as physical strength of the soldiers was beaten down, and the 
retreat was thenceforth one vast and frightful rout. Napoleon had lost in this 
campaign, not by defeat, but by cold and famine in the midst of the solitudes 
and the snows of Russia, his grand army and the illusion of his fortune. Alex- 
ander had already concluded a league with Sweden, whose councils were 
directed by the French marshal Bernadotte, who had been chosen crown prince 
and adopted by Charles XIII. as his son. Prussia was next roused to resist- 
ance. The Emperor, whom the confederates believed to be entirely vanquished, 
opened the campaign notwithstanding with new victories. The battle of Lut- 
zen, gained on the 2d of May, 1813, with conscripts, the occupation of Dresden, 
the victory of Bautzen, and the war carried to the banks of the Elbe, astonished 
the coalition. Austria had been about to join the enemies of the Emperor. 
She now, however, changed her purpose and made offers of mediation. These 
offers were accepted, and a treaty was attempted to be made at Prague ; but 
Napoleon refused to accept the terms proposed to him ; Austria threw herself 
into the arms of his enemies, and hostilities recommenced. Napoleon had two 
hundred and eighty thousand men to oppose to five hundred and twenty thou- 
sand, yet notwithstanding this disparity, victory at first seemed to second him. 
He was successful at Dresden, where he beat the united allies, but the reverses 
sustained by his lieutenants defeated his plans. Macdonald was vanquished 
in Silesia, Ney near Berlin, Vandamme at Kulm. The princes of the confede- 
ration of the Rhine deserted him at this moment ; the defection of the Saxons 
and the Wurterabergers on the field caused him the loss of the battle of Leipsic ; 
and though he defeated the Bavarians at Hanau, when they would have pre- 
vented him from recrossing the Rhine, the campaign ended not less disastrously 
than the preceding. Holland threw off the yoke and recalled the Prince of 
Orange. Spain was lost to France by the victory of Wellington over Jourdan 
at Vittoria, June 21, 1813, and the armies of the peninsula, vainly opposed by 
Soult, entered France. 

The immortal campaign of 1814 now opened. The Emperor had found 
discontent in the legislative body, hitherto silent and submissive : the harbinger 
of internal defection. He obtained from the senate a levy of three hundred 
thousand men, and made preparations for the campaign with the greatest 

2f2 



342 THE CONSULATE AND THE EMPIRE. 

ardour. The Austrians were advancing into Italy, the English had passed the 
Bidassoa under Wellington and appeared on the Pyrenees, an allied army of 
150,000 men had passed into France under Swartzenberg by Switzerland, that 
of Silesia under Blucher, and numbering 130,000, had entered it through 
Frankfort, while that of the north, a hundred thousand, under Bernadotte, 
invaded Holland and Belgium. Deprived of the support of the people, who 
merely looked on, Napoleon stood alone against the world with a handful of 
veteran soldiers and his genius, which had lost nothing of its audacity or its 
vigour. It was a grand spectacle to contemplate him at this moment; no 
longer an oppressor, no longer a conqueror, defending foot by foot with new 
victories the soil of his country, his empire, and his renown. He marched in 
person against Swartzenberg and Blucher. Maison was to check Bernadotte 
in Belgium ; Augereau the Austrians at Lyons ; Eugene was to defend Italy, 
and Soult was to oppose the English on the Spanish frontier. Dexterously 
placing himself between his two opponents, he flew from one army to another, 
and beat them both in succession : he defeated Blucher at Champaubert, at 
Montmirail, at Chateau-Thierry, and at Vauchamps, and he overthrew the Aus- 
trians at Montereau and drove them before him. But his generals were every- 
where else unsuccessful ; Murat joined the coalition ; and defection and misfor- 
tune overturned all Napoleon's plans. By a bold march he threw himself into 
the rear of the invaders, but they marched to Paris, and took possession of the 
line of defence which protected that city on the 30th of March after a severe 
contest. On the succeeding day the city capitulated, and on the 2d of April the 
senate decreed that Napoleon Bonaparte had forfeited the crown, that the here- 
ditary right in his family was abolished, and the people and army released from 
their oaths of fidelity. On the 6th, the Bourbon prince, Louis XVIII., was pro- 
claimed, and on the 11th, Napoleon, convinced of the hopelessness of further 
resistance, signed .an act of unconditional abdication, and shortly after set out 
for his new prin^ality of Elba, where he was to enjoy a pension of six millions 
of francs and retain the imperial title. The Pope and the other sovereigns 
who had been deprived of their dominions were restored, and all Europe was 
again at peace. 

But the restoMd sovereign and his advisers reverted to the despotic prin- 
ciples of the old monarchy, exercising power as though the revolution had 
never happened. They coiisigned the army to obscure garrisons, supplanted 
their eagles with the fleurs-de-lis, and caused the soldiers to substitute for the 
tri-coloured the white cockade, or to cover the one with the other. The task of 
the government was one of great difficulty, and it acted without union, intelli- 
gence, or vigour. At the same time the congress of Vienna, assembled for the 
distribution of the spoils of the empire, shared out nations like cattle, on the 
basis, not of territorial extent, but of the number of inhabitants in each city 
and in each country. Murat, fearing that he would lose his kingdom of Naples, 
turned again to the man he had abandoned, invited him into Italy, and pro- 
mised him vigorous aid. But Napoleon needed no such instigation. He had 
many friends in Paris, and was acquainted with all the faults of power and ah 



BATTLE OF WATERLOO. 343 

the symptoms of popular irritation. He had determined to make another effort 
to recover his lost greatness. On the 26th of February, 1815, he committed 
himself to his fortunes, embarked from Elba, and landed on the 1st of March, 
with 1000 of his old guard, at Cannes, near Frejus. Advancing to Grenoble, 
he was met by a detachment of seven hundred men, who occupied a defile in 
his front and cut off the approach to that town. The officer in command 
refused to parley and threatened to fire on Napoleon's party. The Emperor 
advanced alone and on foot within hearing of his troops, opened his riding 
coat, and thus addressed them : — " Soldiers, it is I ! Look upon me ! If there 
be a man amongst you who would slay his Emperor, behold him here ! He 
comes, with uncovered breast, to offer himself to your weapons." Admiration 
and enthusiasm took possession of their breasts, the memory of Lodi shot across 
their minds, and they shouted unanimously, " Long live our Little Corporal ! 
We will never oppose him." The two bodies fraternized and marched under the 
same standard upon Grenoble. Colonel Labedoyere had vowed a sort of wor- 
ship to Napoleon, and shortly afterwards led his regiment to fight beneath the 
eagles. Ney, at the head of the army of the Bourbons, led away by the 
example of his soldiers, threw himself into the arms of his old general. All 
endeavours to rally the troops to the support of Louis were vain ; in Paris itself 
they gave no response to the cry of " Vive la Roi.^'' Louis XVIIL knew well 
how to interpret their apathy ; on the morning of the 20th of March he fled 
from the Tuileries ; Napoleon entered it on the evening of the same day, once 
more master of France. He had conquered the kingdom, without a drop of 
bloodshed, in twenty days. Some parts of France, however, fell into a state 
of civil war, and the congress of Vienna declared the Emperor to be without 
the social pale. A million of soldiers were about to be poured into France ; 
and Napoleon made gigantic efforts to be able to meet the storm. He endea- 
voured to strengthen his popularity by engaging to govern as a constitutional 
sovereign ; but all his attention was quickly turned to military measures. He 
hurried across the frontiers at the head of about 125,000 men, in the hope of 
overthrowing Wellington and Blucher, each of whom held the command of 
ninety thousand. These attacked separately and overthrown, he would make 
head against Austria and Russia. On the 16th of June, a. bloody battle was 
fought around the village of Ligny on the plain of Fleurus, where the Prussians 
were defeated with the loss of twenty-two thousa-i^d men. The retreat of the 
Prussians compromised their safety ; and Wellington retired to- the celebrated 
field of Waterloo. General Grouchy, with thirty-'six thousand of the French 
troops, was ordered to keep back Blucher and the Prussians, while Napoleon 
engaged the forces of Wellington. Bonaparte's intention was to cut through 
the centre of the English ; and his artillery poured such a destructive fire upon 
the enemy that they found it expedient to retire behind some elevations on the 
plain. They advanced again with reinforcements, and the work of carnage 
was continued with terrible devotion, but without advantage, till about six 
o'clock in the evening. Bonaparte, expecting every moment the arrival of 
Grouchy on the flank of the English, made sure of the victory. At length he 



344 THE CONSULATE AND THE EMPIRE. 

was informed that the Prussians were approaching the right wing of the French ; 
the English called up their reserve of cavalry, the Prussians commenced a can- 
nonade on the French flank, and Wellington sent a body of hussars to charge 
the cavalry. But though exposed to the whole united fire of the British, Bel- 
gians, and Prussians, the French stood like a rock. The charge of the hussars 
being repelled. Lord Anglesey brought up two regiments of Life Guards, com- 
posed of the finest and strongest men in England, and mounted on steeds of 
superior size and strength. He led them to a tremendous charge, threw the 
centre of the French into disorder, and reached almost to the spot where Napo- 
leon stood. The confusion thus created was increased by the advance of the 
allies; the old soldiers of the Imperial Guard fully sustained their motto, " The 
Guard dies but does not surrender;" but the younger troops, finding their 
lines broken and the Prussians, English, and Belgians advancing on every 
side, were seized with a panic and began to fly. The army was disorganized ; 
the brave were borne away by the torrent of cowardly or treacherous fugitives: 
the battle was lost and the fate of the empire decided. The English were 
unable to pursue the fugitives, but the sanguinary Prussians, gladly undertaking 
the task, followed and massacred all who fell into their hands. Sixty thousand 
men fell victims in this dreadful conflict. Napoleon, despairing of his fortune 
and shunned by the bullets, to which he vainly presented his breast, abandoned 
the wreck of his army to the charge of Soult,and returned to Paris to announce 
in person that all was lost. From Paris he retired to Malmaison, whence, find- 
ing that his enemies would listen to none of his propositions, he set out for 
Rochefort, with the intention of sailing to America. But the port was so 
blockaded by English cruisers that it was impossible to go out without being 
recognised and captured. Deluded by a strange infatuation, Napoleon flat- 
tered himself that, by an act of noble confidence, he might triumph over the 
national animosity of the British. He presented himself with his suite on board 
an English ship, the Bellerophon, whence he wrote to the prince-regent of 
England, demanding permission to sit down like another Themistocles, by the 
British hearth, and claim the protection of the British laws. The reply to this 
exhibition of greatness was an order to convey the illustrious captive to the 
rock of St. Helena, thenceforth his retreat, his prison, and his tomb. He died 
there on the 5th of May, 1821, surrounded by a few faithful friends. His 
disease was of the liver, and its progress was hastened by the influence of an 
unwholesome climate, and by the brutality and severity of his jailer. Sir Hud- 
son Lowe, in whom the Emperor saw, to use his own words, << an executioner 
sent to assassinate him, a man wholly without a heart, and merely capable of 
discharging the office and duties of a jailer."* 

Napoleon, according to Bonnechose, held human nature in contempt ; 
most men were in his eyes no more than ciphers, whose value was represented 
by the services he could cause them to render. He loved war as a professed 
gambler loves the game in which his skill is pre-eminent. Like the gambler, 

* Montholon. 



CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON. 



345 



too, he risked every day the gain of yesterday, and had himself to reproach for 
ahnost all his disasters. The restoration of order in France and innumerable 
useful creations of his genius constitute his true titles to glory ; but the com- 
parison of the good which he did with that which he might have done, had he 
been governed by none but moral and patriotic views, must ever weigh upon 
his memory as a subject of heavy reproach. His ambition twice laid his 
country open to the invasion of foreign arms ; and the calamities by which those 
invasions were followed, and the blood of two millions of men shed in innume- 
rable combats during his reign, have taught France how heavy a price the glory 
of a conqueror costs. Let us, however, hope that she may not have suffered 
so deeply without some future benefit being derived to humanity therefrom. 
Napoleon, in the course of his triumphant march throughout the nations of 
Europe, at the head of kings and princes and powerful chiefs, all sprung from 
the ranks of the people, scattered wherever he passed certain notions of equal 
rights, which have in our day become the basis of political freedom ; and, in 
his double catastrophe, by twice drawing into France the armies of combined 
Europe, he introduced the most distant nations to a higher civilization, which 
will doubtless hereafter establish new links of connection between them and his 
countrymen, and be the remote means of effecting a greater harmony between 
the social institutions of all. Such was the spell of this marvellous man, that, 
at the distance of eighteen hundred leagues from Europe, he still filled it with 
the echoes of his name. His great image loomed afar, from his solitary rock 
in the ocean, an object of terror to some and of hope to others. His death 
hurried some of these latter into rash and desperate enterprises, whilst in deli- 
vering their adversaries from a salutary fear, it left them at liberty to abandon 
themselves with less of prudence and reserve to their reactionary and disastrous 
inclinations. 





T I C i' O ii I . 



CHAPTER XVI. 




HE terror of " legitimate" sovereigns, Napoleon, being 
exiled, Louis XVIII. ventured to return to France and 
''v^ remount the throne. A treaty was made between 
|}^ France and the allies, circumscribing her by the same 
boundaries which formed her limits in 1789. Her 
strongest forts were to be garrisoned by the allied 
troops ; she was to be kept quiet during three years by 
an army of 150,000 foreigners within her boundaries ; 
to pay seven hundred millions toward the expenses of 
the war; and indemnify England for the merchandise confiscated by Napoleon. 
Marshal Ney and Labedoyere were tried and shot for having joined the Empe- 
ror on his return from Elba. In Avignon, Marseilles, and Lyons blood flowed 
freely in consequence of the royalist reaction, and the chamber of deputies 
disgraced itself by yielding to this passion and giving a free rein to violence. 
Tyrannized over by the royalists and a host of foreign soldiers, and borne 
down by the weight of the public burdens, the school of liberal men who held 
liberty to be an inherent right of human nature, and who founded its doctrines 
upon reason, the public interest, and the general will, rapidly increased. The 

(o4G) 



EXPULSION OF THE BOURBONS. 347 

aim of the liberals was to give to the greatest possible number a participation 
in political rights ; that of their opponents, the royalists, to extend aristocratic 
influence at any cost. Both parties took advantage of whatever was obscure 
or ill-defined in the charter sworn to by Louis at his restoration — the royalists 
to destroy — the liberals to obtain more than it meant to promise. An invinci- 
ble repulsion naturally existed between the fundamental opinions of these two 
parties ; and it was, perhaps, impossible that a permanent order of things could 
be established in France under a dynasty linked by all its ancient recollections, 
by its affections, and even by gratitude itself, to men who sought to construct 
the future out of the materials of the past, — whilst the nation over whom that 
dynasty reigned taught its rights and its power by an age of revolutions, rejected 
their principles, and adopted wholly the system founded and defended by its 
adversaries. The struggle between the more violent men of these opposing 
parties continued for fifteen years, beginning at the abdication of Napoleon and 
ending with the downfall of the Bourbons in 1830. In the outset the royalists 
had the advantage, and in consequence of the moderation of the king they 
retained their ascendency until his death. This event occurred on the 16th of 
December, 1824. Louis XVIIL was succeeded by his brother, the Count 
d'Artois. Personally, the late king had been attached to the constitutional 
compact, which he looked upon as his own work, and guided by which he 
passed through times of great difficulty and was enabled to escape many shoals. 
Yet few will doubt that, while clinging to it as an anchor of safety, he was 
influenced rather by a regard to his own repose and greatness than by any real 
solicitude for the liberties, the glory, or the prosperity of France. 

The new sovereign, Charles X., was no sooner seated, on the throne than 
he entered upon the same path which had led Louis XVL to destruction. He 
had been the adviser of that unfortunate prince in all his most unpopular acts. 
The bleeding image of his brother was always before his eyes, but he perverted 
the lesson it ought to have taught him. Louis XVL, he said, had been brought 
to the scaffold by always giving way : and forgetting that the art of government 
consisted in the judicious and timely use both of concession and resistance, 
Charles himself imagined that the only way to save his head and his crown was 
by never yielding at all. He immediately identified himself with the royalists. 
The popular voice imposed liberal ministers upon him, but he submitted with a 
bad grace to their direction of affairs, and determined, in case the same popu- 
lar breath should condemn them, to revert to ministers of his own choice. 
Such an event as he believed happened, when two unsatisfactory bills presented 
by the ministers to the councils were defeated without discussion by a union 
of the most violent royalists and democrats. Charles, on the 8th of August, 
1829, took the fatal step of dissolving his cabinet and appointing a new one, 
at the head of which was Prince Polignac, an extremely unpopular personage. 
The chamber when it met voted an address moderate and respectful toward 
the king, but asserting their opinion that the composition of the new ministry 
was dangerous to the public liberties. The king answered by dissolving the 
chamber, but the will of the nation was immutable ; the election returns showed 



348 LOUIS PHILIPPE CALLED TO THE THRONE. 

the ministry that they would have to face a majority more compact, more 
impatient, and more hostile than the last ; a majority, however, which sought 
not the overthrow of the king, but the preservation of the charter. But to be 
a friend to the constitution in the eyes of the court was to be a foe to the 
monarch, and the men who wished for the charter along with the Bourbons 
were driven by the prejudice of the Bourbons themselves to unite with the revo- 
lutionists, who wished for the charter without the Bourbons. The new chamber 
was summoned to meet on the 3d of August, 1830, but on the 26th July the 
king issued the famous ordinance which annulled the late elections, abolished 
the freedom of the press, and created a new electoral system. These ordi- 
nances destroyed the charter and dissolved all ties between the nation and the 
throne. On the day of their publication all Paris murmured ; on the succeed- 
ing day it acted. A thousand barricades were thrown up amid cries of "Vive 
la Charte !" and everywhere the royal emblems and symbols of the monarchy 
were torn down. Marshal Marmont, invested with the command-in-chief,' 
directed the troops against the populace, but La Fayette appeared in their 
midst, displaying in his venerated hand the tri-colour. The National Guard, 
which Charles X. had dissolved, responded to the summons of this apostle of 
freedom, and rallied beneath the popular colours. Every street and square 
became a glorious battle-field to the Parisians ; and after a sanguinary struggle 
of three days, the public liberties triumphed and the people returned to their 
repose. The royal forces having been compelled to evacuate the city, a pro- 
visional government was instituted, at the head of which was the Duke of 
Orleans, with the title of Lieutenant-General of the kingdom. On the 2d of 
August, Charles X. signed an act of abdication in favour of the Duke of Bour- 
deaux, and on the 10th of August embarked at Cherbourg for England. 
The deputies called to the throne Louis Philippe of Orleans, and his descend- 
ants in the male line for ever. He took an oath on the 9th of August to observe 
the constitutional charter, to govern by the laws only and according to the 
laws; to cause true and strict justice to be done to every man according to his 
rights ; and in all things to act with a view solely to the interests, the happiness, 
and the glory of the people of France. 

Though very young at the period of the first revolution, Louis Philippe 
adopted the national colours and gave indisputable proofs of his attachment to 
public liberty by his efforts in the first of those great battles which shed sucli 
lustre on the arms of France. Afterwards proscribed, he presented himself 
among strangers, not, like many others, as a suppliant, nor as an enemy of his 
country, but as the possessor of an honourable independence earned by the exer- 
cise of his own talents. Restored to his titles and dignities, he had braved for 
sixteen years the coolness of the court, and occupied himself with giving his 
sons a popular education. He had ever been the friend of all who were eminent 
in science, literature, and law. Under his sway, sedition and civil war are 
unknown to France ; the countiy is in possession of guarantied liberties — the 
object of the strife and battles of forty years ; the education of the lower classes 
has received a wide extension ; and the yearly increase in the revenue, while 



AFFAIRS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND FRANCE. 349 

it attests the improving condition of those classes, offers at the same time the 
best security for future internal tranquillity.* 

In Great Britain, besides the exertions made for the purpose of defending 
the ancient institutions of France, the principal event which marked the reign 
of George III. was the legislative union with Ireland, effected on the first day 
of the present century. The people of that country, however, viewed the 
abolition of their national legislature with discontent, and have been ever since 
making efforts for the repeal of the union. The intellect of George III., after 
suffering several temporary aberrations, became so disordered at the end of 1810 
that it was necessary to appoint a regent. The Prince of Wales was appointed 
to that dignity, and when the king died, January 29th, 1820, he succeeded to 
the throne as George IV. The most notable event of his reign was the passage, 
under the auspices of the Duke of Wellington, of a bill for the emancipation of 
the Catholics from the penal laws before enforced against them. Under William 
IV., who succeeded in 1830, a reform bill was passed, which placed the elective 
power chiefly in the hands of the middle classes, and slavery was abolished 
throughout the British colonies, twenty millions sterling being given to the 
planters as an indemnification. In 1837 King William was succeeded by Queen 
Victoria, the year of whose accession was marked by a rebellion in Canada, 
which was, however, speedily suppressed. 

The French revolution of 1830 encouraged two attempts to be made for 
securing national independence ; one in Belgium, the other in Poland. The 
Belgians were successful ; the union of their country with Holland was dis- 
solved, and Belgium, recognised by the European powers as an independent 
kingdom, received, as king, Leopold of Saxe Coburg. (July, 1831.) The 
Polish revolution broke out in the military school of Warsaw. The patriotic 
pupils were joined by the army, formed a provisional government, and com- 
pelled the Archduke Constantine to resign his authority. But the hosts of 
Russia were poured into the devoted country ; the Poles, under Adam Czarto- 
riski, made a gallant but unsuccessful defence ; their inferiority of numbers was 
too great, and the enemy entered their capital in triumph, 8th September, 1831. 
Numbers of the patriots were sent to Siberia ; while others only escaped that 
punishment by a voluntary exile. 

Spain and Portugal have presented a scene of almost incessant turmoil 
since the Bourbon restoration. In 1820, Ferdinand VII. of Spain was com- 
pelled by an insurrection to adopt the constitution of 1812, to the exclusion of 
his despotic principles. A civil war broke out in 1823, in which Ferdinand 
was assisted by a French army, and the patriots were forced into compliance. 
Ferdinand, having abrogated the salic law in favour of his daughter, Isabella, 
left the crown to that infant at his death, and appointed the queen-mother 
regent. (1833.) The late king's brother, Carlos, claimed the throne, and a 
sanguinary civil war broke out, which continued until 1840. The queen-regent 
relied for support upon the liberal party, and received aid from France and 

* Bonnechose. Russel. 

2G 



350 NORTHERN EUROPE AND GREECE. 

England. When the pacification of 1840 was effected, she laid down her 
authority, and the regency was given to General Espartero, duke of Vittoria. 
He was driven into exile in 1843, and the country reverted into a state of dis- 
order and uncertainty. John VI. of Portugal returned to his kingdom in 1821, 
On his death in 1826 the crown fell to Don Pedro, Emperor of Brazil, who 
resigned it in favour of his infant daughter Maria, and appointed his brother, 
Don Miguel, regent. Miguel, aiming at the uncontrolled sovereignty, got him- 
self appointed king by the Cortez in 1829. Pedro sailed to Europe, and whh 
the aid of France and England, and after a struggle of two years, he succeeded 
in compelling Miguel to leave the kingdom. Donna Maria was shortly after 
declared of age, took an oath to support a liberal constitution, and assumed 
the exercise of royal authority. 

Germany and Prussia, since 1815, have advanced steadily in the career of 
prosperity. Russia, under the sway of Alexander and his successor, Nicholas, 
1825, rejoices in the imperial m.easures taken for her internal improvement and 
the increase of her power, and the other northern kingdoms have been steadily 
advancing in prosperity in consequence of the peaceful condition of the age. 
In Greece, however, the remembrance of their ancient renown, and the exam- 
ple of the other nations of Europe, caused an insurrection to break out in the 
Morea and Archipelago in 1820. Volunteers from all parts of Europe flocked 
to the aid of the insurgents, and expressions of sympathy were received from 
all the world. For six years a barbarous and sanguinary struggle was waged 
without decisive results ; the governments of Europe being somewhat disposed 
to avoid interference, on the ground of its being a rebellion against legitimate 
authority. But when the suUan of Turkey called in the aid of his powerful 
vassal, Mohammed Ali, Pasha of Egypt, England, France, and Russia combined 
to procure the independence of Greece. The Turco-Egyptian armament, having 
violated an armistice, was annihilated by the combined fleets of the allies at 
Navarino. In consequence, the sultan declared war against the three powers; 
and the Russians invaded his territories, and after a short but bloody war forced 
him to make peace. He signed a treaty on the 14th of September, by which 
he recognised the independence of Greece, granted considerable advantages to 
Russia, and guarantied the payment of the expenses of the war. Thus the 
long series of internal disorders of Greece were terminated ; it was erected 
into an independent kingdom, and the crown confided to Prince Otho of Ba- 
varia. Since his accession to the throne, the commercial and agricultural 
resources of the country have been considerably augmented ; but his system 
of government and finance is far from being well adapted to the peculiar 
features of the Grecian character and the state of a country which has recently 
emancipated itself from centuries of slavery by a sanguinary revolution. 




P I I. G K IM S. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



®ijie |l|>ij(t®rg ui ^oioniiati®: 



OLUMBUS'S voyages and the previous ones of the 
Northmen to America have already been noticed. A 
double discovery closed the history of adventure in 
the fifteenth century ; the discovery of a new world 
and a new route to India. Between the years 1508 
and 1510, Hayti, Cuba, and Jamaica were conquered 
and colonized by the Spaniards, who worked the 
mines and tilled the soil by the compulsory labour of 
j'^fe the natives, who sank under the hardships to which 
1^3 ^"^ they were subjected, and, by dying, diminished their 
^d*^ <?...^S:>^j^3^ Q^^ numbers and the profits of their masters. The 
natives being found inadequate to undergo the exhausting labours imposed 
upon them, their taskmasters were obliged to seek servants elsewhere, and 
hence originated the African slave-trade. More important conquests were 
opened by the intrepidity of Balboa, who had founded a small settlement on the 
isthmus of Darien. Fernando Cortez, a commander possessing great skill and 
bravery, but exceedingly bigoted and unscrupulous, sailed with an armament 
from Cuba to the harbour of San Juan de Ulloa, which he entered on the 2d of 

(351) 




352 HISTORY OF COLONIZATION. 

April. 1519. Montezuma, chief of the Aztecans, a tribe which had emigrated 
from a country north of California, had extended the Aztec dominions on one 
side to the Pacific, on the other to the Gulf of Mexico ; but it must be stated 
that many tribes within this tract yielded a reluctant obedience, while some 
others retained their independence. Cortez with his forces, numbering in all 
700 men, was met at Vera Cruz by ambassadors from Montezuma the younger, 
sent to command him to withdraw from the country. The Spanish leader 
refused to return until he had communicated with the Emperor in person, and 
proceeded at once to the capital. Having here got possession of the person of 
Montezuma, Cortez attempted, by using him as a tool, to effect the subjugation 
of the empire. But the inhabitants rose against the invaders; in a battle against 
them fought in the city of Mexico, Montezuma was placed in the ranks of the 
Spaniards and killed by his own subjects. Cortez, however, was compelled to 
evacuate the city and retreat to Tlascala. Here he reorganized his forces, 
took into his service a large body of friendly Indians, built brigantines to be 
employed in the navigation of the lake Tezcuco, and again pushed forward to 
the city. It was captured after a siege of seventy-five days, and its fate decided 
that of the empire. Province after province submitted to the Spaniards, whose 
power was soon extended over the whole realm of the Montezumas. Cortez, 
on his return to Spain, was received at first with honours and rewards, but his 
court favour soon declined, and the office of Captain-General of Mexico was 
refused him. He engaged in various adventures suited to his ardent and deter- 
mined spirit, and died at Seville, 1553. 

Mexico became a subordinate kingdom, governed by a Spanish viceroy, 
with powers nearly equal to those of the sovereign ; Spaniards received the 
preference in all offices of trust and profit ; the natives being in fact excluded 
from all civil and ecclesiastical appointments. Native manufactures and agri- 
cultural productions were discouraged, to benefit those belonging to the mother 
country, and all church officers were made dependent on the king and not on 
the pope. Under this execrable system, Mexico remained a blank for three 
centuries in the history of nations, and was known only by its produce of the 
precious metals. But the news of the abdication of Charles VI. of Spain, in 
1808, gave a shock to the royal authority from which it never recovered. The 
natives and coloured population asserted their claim to the rights of freemen, 
which was opposed to the audiencia or Mexican court of final appeal. An 
open insurrection against the European authorities broke out in 1810, headed 
by Hidalgo and Morelos, two priests of New Spain. A national congress was 
assembled in 1813, the independence of Mexico was declared, and a san- 
guinary guerilla warfare was commenced. At length, in 1821, Iturbide, here- 
tofore a royalist, declared suddenly in favour of the patriots, and published 
the celebrated Manifesto of Iguala, in favour of a constitutional monarchy. 
His cause became popular ; the enthusiastic support of the nation enabled him 
to put down completely the Spanish government and form a national congress. 
That body made him Emperor of Mexico, under the title of Augustin I. By 
using military force to dissolve the congress he excited opposition among the 



REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 353 

people, who compelled him to abdicate the throne. He was suffered to leave 
the country and allowed an annual pension of j65000 for his past services, but 
was decreed an outlaw in case of his return. He did return, however, clandes- 
tinely, was discovered, arrested, and executed. 

The congress was reassembled on the expulsion of Iturbide, and a govern- 
ment was modelled on that of the United States, but the hopes then formed of 
its stability have proved fallacious ; repeated attempts at revolution have ever 
since convulsed the country. The parties in the struggle for independence 
were known as imperialists and republicans ; these became merged into the 
factions of centralists and federalists ; the former advocating a single superin- 
tending government, the latter that of the independent government of states, 
federally connected. This struggle between the rival parties has continued 
nearly twenty years, and has been a fruitful source of insurrection. Texas 
declared herself independent of the confederacy, and commenced a struggle 
for a national existence in the year 1835. The contest was decided with the 
overthrow by General Houston of the Mexican president Santa Anna, at the 
famous battle of San Jacinto, April 21st, 1836. There can scarcely be said to 
be any regular government in Mexico : one military leader or popular dema- 
gogue holds sway to-day ; the successful revolt of another may dash all his 
prospects to-morrow. The bonds of society are all loosened, property insecure, 
and life not safe from assassination and violence. The annexation of Texas to 
the United States in 1845 led to an unfortunate war between the latter power 
and Mexico, which absurdly claimed sovereignty over the territory of Texas ; 
and Mexico, as it exists at present, affords one of the most melancholy exam- 
ples that modern history has presented of an extensive, fertile, and well-situated 
region being reduced through anarchy and misgovernment to a state bordering 
on barbarism.* 

The discovery of a passage round Cape Horn by Magellan, and the esta- 
blishment of a colony at Panama, after Balboa had discovered the nature of the 
isthmus, incited the Spanish adventurers to undertake new conquests. That 
01 Peru was planned and executed, A. D. 1531, by Pizarro, one of the most 
enterprising men that ever visited the new world. By a deliberate massacre 
of the unoffending and hospitable people he possessed himself of the person of 
the Inca Atahualpa, who was sentenced to death after having paid an enormous 
ransom. The perfidious invaders, however, quarrelled over the spoils, the 
Peruvians made repeated insurrections, and the kingdom was almost lost. Pi- 
zarro fell by the handof Almagro, a Spaniard, whose father he had put to death, 
and great confusion arose from this crime. It was not till a quarter of a cen- 
tury had elapsed that the royal authority was firmly established in Peru. The 
government there established was far more iniquitous and oppressive than that 
of Mexico, the mines being worked by a horrid and fatal system of conscription. 
In 1540 the Spaniards, under Valdivia, added Chili to their possessions in 
Peru. The revolution which separated Peru and Chili from Spain broke out in 

* M'Culloch. Taylor. 
Vol. III. 45 2 g 2 



354 HISTORY OF COLONIZATION. 

1810. It resembled the war of independence in Mexico in its general feature, 
and was finally completed at the surrender of the last Spanish garrison, at Cal- 
lao, February 26, 1826. The chief agent in the liberation of the Spanish pro- 
vinces of South America was Simon Bolivar, in honour of whom Upper Peru 
was erected into an independent nation, with the title of Bolivia. In Lower 
Peru the Bolivian constitution was unpopular, and Peru and Colombia were 
soon separated from Bolivia. The latter state is the only one of the three 
which has profited by its liberation ; the others have been involved in per- 
petually recurring vicissitudes. The states of the Rio de la Plata, long 
dependent on Peru, had separated themselves from the Peruvians at the close 
of the revolution, on account of differences in language, manners, and habits, 
and had formed themselves into the Argentine republic. In 1827 a war broke 
out between the republic and Brazil, in regard to the possession of Uruguay, 
which was erected into an independent state in 1828. More recently the 
republic of La Plata has been involved in difficulties with Bolivia and France, 
whilst she is torn by internal dissensions. It needs but a few years of repose 
to develop the abundant natural resources of La Plata, and cause her to become 
a flourishing country, but her accumulated difficulties appear likely long to 
retard the march of her prosperity. 

The first discovery of Brazil was probably made on the 26th of January, 
1500, by the Spaniards under Pinzon, the companion of Columbus ; but owing 
to disputes between Spain and Portugal regarding its possession, it was not 
settled until 1549, when a Portuguese expedition founded St. Salvador. 
Various towns sprung up along the shore, and notwithstanding the hostilities 
of the French, Dutch, and Spaniards, the colony advanced steadily until it was 
brought under the Spanish dominion by the union of Portugal with Spain, 1580. 
This dominion was terminated in 1640 by the revolution which placed the 
house of Braganza on the throne of Portugal. Brazil, by her wealth and 
resources, enabled the abject and impoverished mother couniry to maintain an 
independent existence. In 1808 the prince-regent of Portugal, John VI., and 
his court came to Brazil, which then ceased to be treated as a colony ; it was 
raised to the dignity of a nation, and the process of amelioration in its financial 
and commercial condition was rapid. The Portuguese revolution of 1820 
operated beneficially in Brazil, where the movement was consummated in 1822 
by the dissolution of the ties which bound the colony to Portugal. Don Pedro, 
the crown prince of Portugal, by favouring the revolutionists, was declared 
Emperor of the free and independent state of Brazil, but difficuhies arose and 
he abdicated in favour of his son, a minor in 1831, whose rights have hitherto 
been preserved, and internal tranquillity has been successfully maintained. At 
present Brazil appears to have a fair prospect of advancing rapidly in social 
prosperity and political importance. 

Parao-uay was first brought under European control by Jesuit missionaries, 
who were so successful in making converts, that they in a short time became 
masters of the country. They endeavoured to perpetuate their dominion by 
excluding all foreigners from the country, and infused a jealousy of strangejs 



ENGLISH COLONIES. 355 

into the natives. After the Jesuits were expelled, 1768, the fabric they had 
constructed fell to pieces, and Paraguay was almost unnoticed until it entered 
into the revolutionary movement of the South American states ; in 1813 it was 
declared a republic under two consuls, and in the following year Dr. P>ancia, 
the second consul, got himself made sole dictator for three years, and at the 
expiration of that time for life. The government is an anomaly in the present 
times. Dr. Francia enacted the part of Sylla at ancient Rome ; he was the 
commander-in-chief, the head of the church, of the laws, and of every branch 
of the administration : his caprice was the law of the land, and his punishments 
were as barbarous as his policy was tyrannical and oppressive. His successors 
continue the same policy. 

The English had early made explorations along the coasts of North 
America. The Venetian, John Cabot, and afterwards his son Sebastian, made 
i.i-jjortant voyages in the service of Henry VII. of England, but the following 
reign, that of Henry VIII., was unfavourable to nautical enterprise, and for 
many years the English occupied themselves only in useless efforts to discover 
a northwest or northeast passage to India. It was not till the beginning of the 
seventeenth century that any permanent settlements were effected. The first 
of these was made at Jamestown, in 1607 ; the colony thus planted being called 
Virginia, the name given in honour of Queen Elizabeth to the whole country 
between the thirty-fourth and forty-fifth degrees of north latitude. Six years 
later the settlement of New York was begun by the Dutch on Manhattan or 
New York island. These settlers were speedily compelled to acknowledge the 
sovereignty of the King of England, whose subjects in 1664 conquered the 
Dutch and occupied the colony. In 1620, the colony of Plymouth was planted 
by English Puritans, and eight years after, under a grant from the Plymouth 
company, the colony of Massachusetts was established at Salem. In 1692, 
Plymouth and Massachusetts were incorporated together. New Hampshire 
was begun to be settled in 1623 at the mouth of the Piscataqua river. It came 
under the government of Massachusetts in 1641, but was erected into a separate 
province by a royal ordinance in 1679. New Jersey was settled by Danes in 
1624, conquered by the Dutch governor of New York, Peter Stuyvesant, 1655, 
and occupied by the English after the fall of New Amsterdam, 1664. At the 
time of the conquest of New Jersey, Stuyvesant also extended his victorious 
march over Delaware, which had been settled by the Swedes in 1627. Dela- 
ware likewise fell into the hands of the English in 1664. The first town in 
Maine, York, was founded in 1639, but this province was united to Massachu- 
setts in 1652, and formed part of it until 1820. Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, 
planted the colony of Maryland, at a place at the mouth of the Potomac, called 
St. Mary. A company from Massachusetts begun in 1635 the first settlement 
in Connecticut, at Hartford. The colony of New Haven, commenced at the 
town of the same name in 1638, was incorporated with Connecticut in 1662. 
Providence, the origin of Rhode Island, was founded by Roger Williams in 
1636, after he had been driven from Massachusetts by the intolerance of his 
religious opinions. Settlers from Virginia established themselves on lands 



356 HISTORY OF COLONIZATION. 

north of Albemarle Sound, between 1640 and 1650, thus founding what became 
in 1729 the province of North Carolina. In South Carolina, the first settlement 
was made in 1670 at Port Royal ; this was abandoned for another site, and 
that in its turn was forsaken in 1680 for the place where the city of Charleston 
now stands. Pennsylvania, founded by William Penn in 1682, grew with 
greater prosperity and rapidity than any other of the colonies ; a result to be 
attributed to the mildness and equity of its founder and early governors. 
Georgia was colonized in 1733 at Savannah. 

In 1643, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Haven banded themselves 
together to protect themselves against Indian hostilities and Dutch encroach- 
ments, under the style of " The United Colonies of New England." This was 
the commencement of the unity in will and deed which afterwards enabled the 
colonists to achieve successfully the great work of independence. In 1675 
and 1676 New England suffered severely in an Indian war, brought about 
by the superior abilities of the Sachem king Philip, whose death in the 
latter year ended hostilities. Commercial restrictions and oppressive taxes in 
Virginia led to a rebellion, known as "Bacon's Rebellion," from the name of 
its leader, an ambitious man who seized and held the supreme authority for 
several months. His rebellion was ended by his death. The succession of 
rulers and changes of dynasties in England were severely felt by the colonies, 
and though the accession of William of Orange freed them from the oppressions 
they had endured under his predecessors, it involved them in the war between 
France and England, known in the colonies as King William's War. This 
war lasted from 1690 to 1697, and was marked by savage atrocities on the 
part of the French and Indians. They were again exposed to these in Queen 
Anne's War, 1702 to 1713, which originated in disputes about the boundaries. 
The declaration of war by England against France and Spain, involved her 
colonies in hostilities with the French, Spanish, and Indians. This war proved 
extremely disastrous to the Americans, who signalized themselves, however, 
by a show of remarkable vigour. During its continuance they fitted out an 
expedition with little aid from Great Britain, and captured the important fortress 
of Louisbourg. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle gave peace to the colonies, but 
it was again broken by the encroachments of the French upon the lands watered 
by the Ohio. George Washington was sent against them with an expedition 
from Virginia, in compliance with the directions of the British government to 
resist the aggressions of the French by force. He was met, however, by 
a greatly superior enemy and compelled to capitulate, with the privilege of 
returning with his troops to Virginia. This was the commencement of the 
Seven Years' War, or the Old French War, as it is commonly styled, although 
hostilities were not openly declared until 1756. In 1755, the forces of the 
colonies subdued the French in Nova Scotia, and took possession of that pro- 
vince. General Braddock led a force of British and colonists against the 
French on the Ohio, but his rashness and arrogance caused his destruction. 
He was surprised and defeated with great loss by the united forces of French 
and Indians ; Braddock himself was mortally wounded, and his detachment 



TAKING OF QUEBEC. 357 

was only saved from total destruction by the exertions of Colonel Washington, 
who commanded the colonial forces. In the north, the French were defeated 
on the borders of Lake George. In 1756, the French, under Montcalm, were 
so successful that the British government made great preparations for the cam- 
paign of 1757, yet it also proved disastrous. In 1758, however, William Pitt 
assumed the direction of affairs ; Louisbourg was taken, with great loss to the 
French of prisoners, ships, and munitions of war. Fort Du Quesne was aban- 
doned by the French and occupied by the English. Its name was changed to 
Pittsburg. Fort Frontignac, an important fortress at the outlet of Lake Ontario, 
was captured, though an expedition against Ticonderoga failed. That fortress, 
with Crown Point, fell in the following year. General Prideaux captured Nia- 
gara, and the gallant Wolfe was no less successful in the great enterprise of 
taking Quebec. The acquisition, however, was dearly purchased with the life 
of the conqueror, who died on the field of battle. This erent virtually ended 
the war; the French, after making an unsuccessful attempt to recover Quebec, 
surrendered successively all the places in their possession, and by the treaty 
of Paris in 1763, Canada, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and all islands in the gulf 
and river St. Lawrence were ceded to the British crown. 

The presence of enemies in their French and Indian neighbours had 
hitherto led the colonies to look to Great Britain for protection, and had it con- 
tinued, would for a long time have precluded all thoughts of independent 
existence. But as Wolfe died in the moment of triumph, so the power of the 
British on this continent received its death-blow in the event that destroyed its 
rival. The removal of the French power suggested a vague idea of freedom 
and independence to the colonists; the thought that their arms and their prowess 
had effected it gave them a consciousness of strength ; the aspirations after 
freedom increased with the added military strength, until, when the councillors 
of the British monarch put forth arbitrary pretensions upon America, they rose 
with arms in their hands, and succeeded in establishing their own claims to free 
government. 




OENSHAL WOLFB. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 



^fjc WiJiilst) ^Jateg. 



^^p^3^^^^ HE history of the United States, as colonies of Great 
V ,/''.?^^/^^ ^-^^ Britain, is given in the preceding chapter. To pursue 
%\¥\ ^^^^ parliamentary history from the conclusion of the 
Xi^-yl^^^\-^^K^^ French war to the declaration of independence, or to 
Y\^\a recount in detail the operations of that war, would be to 
A^ follow a beaten track, to repeat what have become 
household words to every American. We will therefore 
''^' but briefly enumerate the more remarkable events of the 
War of Independence, commencing with the passage of the Boston Port Bill, 
March, 1774, for prohibiting all commercial intercourse with that town, on 
account of its spirited resistance to the principles involved in the tax imposed 
upon tea by the British parliament. This, with another bill for subverting the 
charter of Massachusetts, caused the assembly of a general congress, which 
passed a declaration of rights and suspended commercial intercourse with 
Qreat Britain until their grievances should be redressed. Their addresses 
proved ineffectual; warlike stores were collected, and the people began to arm. 
In 1775 parliament proceeded still further with oppressive measures, while the 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 359 

imprudence of General Gage, the royal governor of Massachusetts, led to the 
commencement of actual hostilities. That officer sent a detachment of eight 
hundred men to destroy a collection of stores made by the provincials at Con- 
cord. Eight Americans were killed in a skirmish at Lexington ; the spirit of 
the people was aroused, and the British were compelled to retreat from Concord 
to Boston in the presence of the Americans, who succeeded in causing a loss 
to the detachment of nearly three hundred men. The war was begun in 
earnest. Ticonderoga and Crown Point soon fell into the hands of the Ameri- 
cans under Allen and Arnold ; Putnam and Warren defended their intrench- 
ments on Bunker's Hill with an intrepidity which, though unsuccessful, had the 
moral effect of a victory, and enabled Washington, appointed commander-in- 
chief by the Continental Congress, to compel the evacuation of Boston. (March 
17, 1776.) An invasion of Canada failed, chiefly through the death of its 
commander, the brave Montgomery. In June the gallant defence of Fort 
Moultrie, near Charleston, against General Clinton and Sir Peter Parker, still 
further inspirited the colonists. The enthusiasm in favour of the war had now 
become universal ; the press, the public officers, and even the ministers 
laboured unanimously for the same object. Almost all the royal governors 
had fled from the country, relying upon the wealth, resources, and military 
experience of the English to effect their restoration. But the Americans had 
not engaged rashly in the war ; with great prudence and foresight they had 
avoided being the aggressors in the contest ; they had not suffered the number 
of their friends to be diminished by errors committed in moments of passion ; 
and now, when war was forced upon them, they armed themselves in confident 
reliance upon the righteousness of their cause. In calculating the chances of 
success, they took into the account the great distance by which they were 
separated from England, and the unanimity engendered among themselves by 
indignation at wrongs endured and by enthusiasm in the cause of liberty 
and country. 

y In the beginning of hostilities the Congress had drawn up conciliatory 
addresses and petitions, but their vindications and claims were spurned at as 
artifices to gain time for the better organization of a rebellion. This rejection 
imbittered the more moderate Americans, who united with the zealous in 
aiming at the establishment of a free constitution, the first step towards which 
was the entire dissolution of the connection with Great Britain. On the 7th of 
June, therefore, Richard Henry Lee moved in Congress the declaration of the 
independence of the North American states, and on the 4th of July, 1776, the 
fiimcis instrument, the Declaration of Independence, prepared by Thomas 
Jefferson, was almost unanimously adopted by Congress, This decisive mea- 
sure completed the Revolution. But it still remained to defend it by arms. 
Their oppressors were too deeply enamoured of their power to resign it without 
a struggle, and the numerous and well-appointed armies of Britain were 
speedily directed against the new republic. An army of twenty-four thousand 
men, with adequate naval co-operation, was brought by General Howe to dis- 
possess the American general of New York, which had become his head- 



360 THE UNITED STATES. 

quarters. Defeated on Long Island, not successful at the White Plains, 
Washington, after witnessing the fall of Forts Washington and Lee, retreated 
through the Jerseys into Pennsylvania, with his army, now reduced to less 
than three thousand men, and destitute of almost every necessary. On the 
day that he was driven over the Delaware, the enemy took possession of Rhode 
Island. New York and New Jersey were in their hands, and the apparent 
hopelessness of the contest caused general gloom and despondency. Wash- 
ington, however, turned the tide of affairs by his constancy. Empowered 
with dictatorial authority by Congress, elevated above party spirit and self- 
interest, he alone united in himself all the qualities necessary to success in 
that crisis — foresight, patience, and mildness, with boldness at the right 
moment. Having raised the number of his forces to seven thousand men, he 
recrossed the Delaware, captured, with the loss of nine men, a thousand Hes- 
sians at Trenton, gained a brilliant victory at Princeton, drove the enemy from 
all their posts in the Jerseys except Amboy and Brunswick, and went into 
secure winter quarters at Morristown. After the loss of the battle of the 
Brandywine, September 11, 1777, where Lafayette first drew his sword for 
American freedom, Washington abandoned Philadelphia to the enemy. On 
the 4th of October he made a spirhed but unsuccessful attack on a part of the 
British army at Germantown ; after which he retired to winter quarters at 
Valley Forge. General Burgoyne had reached Saratoga on his march from 
Canada, and the great plan of the campaign on the part of the enemy, 
of hemming in New England, uniting the northern and southern armies, 
and reducing the less zealous states to submission, appeared likely to be 
accomplished. But the activity and resolution of the Americans increased 
as the danger became more imminent, and while Washington watched the 
southern divisions of the British army, they flocked to the standard of Gates 
in the north, to oppose the further progress of Burgoyne. The invincible 
Stark gave to that general the first check by defeating a choice detachment of 
his troops at Bennington, in Vermont ; the roads were speedily blocked up ; 
the British in New York made no effectual attempts to unite whh him, and he 
was finally surrounded and compelled to capitulate, October 16, 1777. 

This great and unlooked-for event decided the views of European powers, 
especially France, concerning the American war. The cabinet of Versailles 
had displayed unwonted skill and the most profound policy in regard to the 
affairs of her great rival. The ministry, with firmness and sagacity, refused to 
Silas Deaue, the first plenipotentiary of the United States, any open support ; 
indeed they treated him with the utmost coldness, which was scarcely changed 
when Benjamin Franklin came to Paris, December, 1776, to assist Deane in 
his labours. The great fame of Franklin as a philosopher, with his simplicity 
of habits and sound sense, insured him the influence and respect which Deane 
had failed to secure. Deane, however, soon saw its effects when, to his great 
astonishment, cannons, muskets, and other munitions of war were supplied 
from the king's magazines to be transported to America, the French minister 
all the while conducting himself towards the American plenipotentiaries as if 



TREATY WITH FRANCE. 



361 




F B A N O E KECOGNISaS A M B B I C A. N I N D 2 P B N D E N C S . 



he knew nothing about it. The predilections of the French for the Americans 
had long before manifested itself in all ranks, and very many had followed the 
example of Lafayette in embarking as volunteers for America. This general 
inclination was far more strongly expressed after they had received the news 
of the capture of Burgoyne ; the cabinet of France speedily decided on war 
with England ; on the 6th of February, 1778, a treaty of commerce was con- 
cluded with the American plenipotentiaries, w^hich premised American inde- 
pendence ; and on the same day a treaty of offensive and defensive alliance 
was signed, which promised mutually to maintain this independence against 
England's opposition, and forbade the concluding of a separate peace. 

The joy with which the announcement of this alliance was received in the 
United States was greatly diminished by the embarrassment in regard to money, 
in which the country had been placed by the depreciation of the paper money 
emissions of Congress. But, by the patriotic exertions of Robert Morris and 
other members of Congress, supplies of money were advanced, and arrange- 
ments were made to provide supplies, to raise a stronger body of militia, and 
to increase the army more rapidly. 

The retreat of the British from Philadelphia to New York, during 
which was gained the American victory of Monmouth ; and the occupation of 
Georgia by the enemy, mark the campaign of 1778 ; that of 1779 is noted 
Vo'i.. III. 46 2 H 



362 THE UNITED STATES. 

for nothing memorable or decisive, if we except the failure of a combined 
French and American attack upon Savannah, and the predatory expeditions 
of the enemy in New York. In 1780, Charleston, with a garrison of five thou- 
sand men under General Clinton, was captured, and South Carolina overrun ; 
General Gates, who marched to its rescue, being defeated in the bloody battle 
of Camden, August 16. In the north, however, the British commander con- 
fined himself to predatory excursions, to blockading a French fleet and 
army in Rhode Island, and to tampering with the fidelity of General Arnold, 
who negotiated whh Major Andre the sale of West Point. The scheme was 
discovered; Arnold fled to the protection of the British, while Andre, captured 
and convicted, was hung as a spy. The year 1781 opened with the most bril- 
liant affair of the war ; the victory of Morgan at the Cowpens, with five hundred 
men over one thousand British veterans, led by Tarleton, January 17, Morgan 
rejoined Greene, who had succeeded Gates in the command in the south, and 
who now effected his famous retreat from Cornwallis. Being reinforced, 
he fought without success a battle at Guilford court-house. Cornwallis then 
marched into Virginia, while Greene returned to South Carolina. He was 
defeated in the second battle of Camden, but was victorious at Eutaw Springs. 
He succeeded in breaking up the British line of posts, and forced them to con- 
centrate their army in Charleston. Meanwhile, the prudent and skilful Lafay- 
ette had been opposed to Cornwallis in Virginia. The British general, having 
fortified himself at Yorktown, was besieged there on the 6th of October by the 
American and French forces, under Washington and the Count Rochambeau. 
On the 19th he was compelled to capitulate, surrendering his whole force, 
amounting to seven thousand men and one hundred and sixty pieces of artillery. 
This great and important success ended the campaign of 1781, and with it the 
war. The hopelessness of further hostilities became apparent, and provisional 
articles of peace were signed November, 1782. The definitive treaty was 
signed on the 30th of September, 1783. In July of that year the British 
evacuated Savannah; in November, New York, and in December, Charleston. 
The war being ended, Washington, to whose unshaken constancy and 
unrivalled ability the states were indebted for their triumph, resigned his 
authority and retired to private life. But he was called upon to preside over 
the Convention, which consolidated and perfected independence by adopting 
a constitution, which was soon after substituted for the so-called Act of Con- 
federation, adopted July 9, 1778. This had proved a fruitful cause of suffer- 
ings and evils, and the jealousy of separate independent state sovereignties 
would, under it, have in a few years rendered the Americans both unhappy 
and contemptible. The independence which had been won by union threat- 
ened to be rendered of no avail by dissension, and the confederation seemed 
about to fall to pieces. Under these circumstances, the firmness, wisdom, and 
moderation of Washington were invaluable, and as president of the Convention 
he rendered services not less valuable than his former warlike exploits.* 

* Von Raumer. 



SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND. 363 

The new constitution having been ratified and adopted by the several 
states, Washington was unanimously chosen first president of the United States 
under it. During the two terms of his presidency, he abstained from all 
foreign contests, aided internal improvements, and guided the country into 
that path which has proved so advantageous. In 1796, having declined a re- 
election, he surrendered his power into the hands of John Adams, who had 
been chosen his successor. In the opening speech to the sixth Congress, 
President Adams complained that France had shown herself arrogant in word 
and deed, and expressed his fears that America would be forced into a war 
with her. Fresh negotiations were attempted, but the Directory required that 
America should buy of them thirty-two millions of worthless Dutch paper, pay 
a large sum as a gratuity to Talleyrand, and whatever other demands their 
dishonourable agents had the audacity to propose. When this became known 
in America, the indignant cry of " Millions for defence, but not a cent for tri- 
bute," was heard on all sides, and a war was commenced with France, 1798, 
which lasted until the downfall of the Directory in 1800. Under the adminis- 
tration of Thomas Jefferson, a treaty was concluded with France, by which 
the immense territory of Louisiana was ceded to the United States for fifteen 
millions of dollars; and the Bashaw of Tripoli, who had annoyed American 
commerce in the Mediterranean by his piracies, was compelled to sign a 
favourable peace. The decrees of Napoleon and the British orders in 
council, having combined to cast off American vessels both from England 
and the continent, occasioned much angry feeling. . The French yielded 
to the remonstrances of the Americans, but the British having joined to their 
other pretensions that of the right to search American ships for British 
seamen liable to impressment, became involved in angry controversies with 
the Americans, who began to prepare for war. A serious Indian war com- 
menced at the instigation of the British, and, organized by the power and elo- 
quence of Tecumseh, first occupied the attention of the country. General 
Harrison was sent into the Indian country with orders to demand a redress of 
grievances, and in case of a refusal to use coercive measures. The Indians 
held a conference with him and agreed to a suspension of hostilities until it 
should be renewed on the following day. In the night, however, they made a 
furious attack upon his camp. The onset was bravely withstood until daylight, 
when the Americans found themselves surrounded by the foe, who poured in 
upon them a deadly fire from all sides. A charge with fixed bayonets drove 
them back, and the mounted riflemen, dashing in among them, threw them 
into confusion, and they dispersed in every direction. The batile of Tippe- 
canoe, thus happily terminated, was but the prelude to a general war. At the 
time of its occurrence, Tecumseh was in the South, persuading the Creek 
Indians and others to join his confederacy. The violation of the rights of the 
Americans by the British having continued ^o increase in number and enormity, 
the United States determined upon a declaration of war against Great Britain, 
June 18, 1812. General Hull, the governor of Michigan, was placed in com- 
mand of an army for the invasion of Canada, and might have met with consi- 



364 THE UNITED STATES. 

derable success had he possessed the requisite activity and courage, but he 
proved cowardly and imbecile, and suffered himself and his army to be made 
prisoners by the capitulation of Detroit. (August, 1812.) This disaster en- 
couraged the Indians along the whole northwestern frontier to commence 
active hostilities ; all who had been wavering having decided on war. Gene- 
ral Harrison was chosen to succeed Hull, and displayed great ability in his 
endeavours to retrieve the affairs in the northwest. Meanwhile, events of some 
importance occurred in the vicinity of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence. 
An attempted invasion of Canada in this quarter failed through the misconduct 
of the American militia, who refused to cross the river to the su])port of the 
regulars, after the latter had, in the most gallant manner, gained the victory 
of Queenstown. The campaign on land thus ended in the success of the Bri- 
tish. On the sea, however, their superiority was more successfully disputed. 
Captains Porter, Hull, Jones, Decatur, Bainbridge, and others, fought with the 
zeal of men anxious to avenge the sufferings of their fellow-mariners, and to 
redeem the honour of their profession, which had been greatly aspersed. Their 
success was almost totally unexpected, and the accounts of their achievements 
staggered the credulity of their enemies, and filled the breasts of the Americans 
with the greatest joy and exultation. In six months the national vessels carried 
the flag of the republic into every sea, and the three losses only which had been 
sustained were made under such circumstances as to reflect high honour on the 
vanquished. The privateers, the fastest sailers on the ocean, were able to over- 
take almost any merchantman, or to escape from the fastest frigate. While the 
commerce of the states sustained scarcely any damage, the enemy had lost by 
November two hundred and fifty vessels and three thousand prisoners. 

The defeat of General Winchester and the massacre of the American pri- 
soners by the British and Indians at Frenchtown, the gallant defence of Fort 
Meigs by General Harrison, the battle of Little York, where the lamented 
General Pike was slain, the capture of Fort George, the defence of Sackett's 
Harbour by General Brown, form, with Colonel Croghan's defence of Fort 
Sandusky and General Harrison's victory on the Thames, the principal events 
of the war in the north during 1813. In the east and south the British made 
hostile demonstrations in the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays, while General 
Jackson prepared himself for future services by a glorious campaign against the 
Creeks. 

The campaign of 1814, in the north, was brilliantly opened by General 
Brown with a victory at Chippewa. This success was followed by another more 
glorious at Queenstown and Lundy's Lane. The siege of Fort Erie and the 
battle of Plattsburg also shed lustre on the American army. On the 10th of 
September, 1813, Commodore Perry gained his famous victory on Lake Erie, 
and the example which he there set was ably followed by M'Donough in de- 
feating the British fleet on Lake Champlain. The honour of the national flag 
was equally well sustained by the exploits of the gallant seamen on the ocean. 

In 1814, a British force under Major General Ross succeeded in 
taking the city of W^ashington and destroying its public buildings, but 



ACQUISITION OF THE FLORIDAS AND TEXAS. 365 

Ross was defeated, with the loss of his life, in an attempt upon the city of 
Baltimore. At the close of the year another British army, under Packenham, 
landed near New Orleans, and afforded to General Jackson an opportunity of 
achieving the greatest victory ever gained on American soil. January 8, 1815. 
This event occurred, however, after a peace had been signed between the belli- 
gerent nations. (December, 1814.) 

At the commencement of the war between Great Britain and the United 
States, the Dey of Algiers, confiding in the supposed maritime supremacy of 
the English, and hoping to acquire valuable American prizes with impimity, 
commenced hostilities. After the conclusion of peace in 1815, war was de- 
clared against Algiers, and Commodore Decatur was ordered to the Mediterra- 
nean with a squadron. The fame of the deeds of our youthfid navy had long 
since reached the Dey, and he no sooner found Decatur determined upon active 
hostilities than he sought for peace. By the treaty, it was provided that all 
Americans in slavery were to be given up without ransom, and that henceforth 
no tribute should ever be required from the United States by Algiers, in any 
form or under any pretext whatever, and that compensation should be made 
for American property destroyed or detained by the Dey. Other stipulations, 
extremely favourable to the United States, were also agreed to. The Bey of 
Tunis and the Bashaw of Tripoli were also forced to give a compensation for 
wrongs suffered by the Americans at their hands. 

President Monroe obtained from Spain the cession of East and West 
Florida ; a territory which afterwards became the seat of an unimportant 
war with the Seminole Indians. The number of the states has more than 
doubled since the revolution, and their territory still further increased by 
the annexation of the independent state of Texas, under the administration 
of James K. Polk. It is astonishing to reflect upon the advance of the United 
States, its prosperity in business, and its rapid and steady progress in every 
great interest. After having seen, to use the words of a celebrated geo- 
grapher,* how completely the American constitution secures all the purposes 
of a good government, and at how cheap a rate, the fear and trembling 
which marked its commencement are exchanged for steadfast confidence and 
unbounded hope ; it stands like a lighthouse on the shore of the sea of 
liberty to direct the political voyager in his perilous course to the port of 
freedom. Every Anniversary of the National Independence gives increasing 
proof of the attachment of the citizens to their excellent form of govern- 
ment, and affords additional evidence of its stability and perpetuity ; and the 
American citizen cannot be found who would be willins: to exchange it for 
any other government on the earth. 

* Haskel. 



2h2 




TlrPOO SAHIB, FROM A HINDOO PORTRAIT. 



CHAPTER XIX 



iKiaia am^ ©Jjima. 




HE discovery of a passage around the Cape of 
Good Hope opened the way to India to a new race 
of conquerors, far more formidable than the Moham- 
medans, who had established their dominion there. 
The Portuguese, by whom it was effected, never 
acquired more than a petty territory on the West 
coast, and the continental acquisitions of the Dutch 
were limited to a few commercial factories. The 
French, by the active operations of Dupleix, seemed 
at one time to be on the high road to the establishment of a great Indian 
sovereignty, but the extraordinary talents, courage, and enterprise of the 
celebrated Clive, and the greater resources and superior maritime strength 
of the English caused their almost total expulsion from the peninsula. The 
British empire in India has grown out of a territorial acquisition of five miles 
square on the Coromandel coast, where Madras now stands. (A. D. 1639.) 
It had increased very little previous to the time of Clive, who, during 
the interval between 1750 and 1765, overthrew the Mogul and his allies, 

(3G6) 



I N D I A A N D C n I N A. 367 

and acquired Bengal, the richest of all the Indian provinces, the most 
defensible, and the magazine whence have been drawn the resources neces. 
sary to conquer and preserve the subsequent acquisitions of the British. 
In 1773, a governor-general was appointed to reside in Bengal, to 
which presidency tlie two others, Calcutta and Bombay, were made subor- 
dinate. Warren Hastings greatly extended the company's territories, and 
rendered its influence paramount in Northern India ; but the means he 
employed were inconsistent whh European notions of equity, and he was 
displaced. Lord Cornwallis became governor-general in 1785, reformed 
many abuses in the administration, and prosecuted to its close a war 
with Tippoo Sahib, which rendered the authority of the British supreme 
from the river Kushna to Cape Comorin. Sir John Shore succeeded Corn- 
wallis, and still further improved the internal organization of the govern- 
ment. Under the governorship of the Marquis of Wellesley, another war 
broke out between the English and Tippoo Sahib, supported by his French allies, 
which ended in the defeat and death of that prince. The British power 
was soon after rendered supreme in the Peninsula by a war with the 
Mahrattas. Subsequently the Goorka tribes were overcome, and ceded 
to their conquerors as the price of peace territories which brought them 
into close contact with the Chinese Empire. Other acquisitions followed, 
and, in 1819, the settlement of Singapore opened to the British the lucra- 
tive commerce of the Indian archipelago. Many new and valuable pro- 
vinces were obtained by a war with the Burmese, 1823, and within the 
last few years the English have involved themselves in extremely troublesome 
wars with two new kingdoms which arose from the ruins of the Mogul empire, 
that of the Afghans and that of the Sikhs. 

In China, after the expulsion of the descendants of Kublai Khan, 
twelve Emperors of the native dynasty of Ming reigned in comparative 
peace till the year 1618, when, during the sway of the thirteenth in suc- 
cession, the Mantchoux, a Tartar horde, profited by internal dissensions 
of the Chinese to gain admittance into the empire, and succeeded in sub- 
duing the country by rendering it a desert in a war of twenty-seven years' 
duration. The first sovereign of this Tartar dynasty, the Ta-tsin, was 
Shunchy, and the sixth in descent from him, Tao Kwang, is now firmly 
seated on the throne of China. This Emperor, who succeeded in 1820, 
is more prejudiced against foreigners than his predecessors ; a fact to which, 
perhaps, is to be attributed the opium war. Large quantities of opium 
continuing to be smuggled into the country, contrary to the imperial mandates, 
the Chinese authorities determined to put an end to the traffic, and accord- 
ingly compelled Captain Elliott, the English resident at Canton, to consent 
to the destruction of several cargoes of opium, and disregarded his pro- 
tests against the restraint to which he was subjected. War was declared 
against China by the English government ; Canton and Ning-po, two of 
the most important cities in China, though defended by immense masses 
of imperial troops, were taken by small British armies, and the impe- 



368 



INDIA AND CHINA. 



rialists were finally forced to make a treaty, August 29, 1842, by which 
the island of Hong Kong was caded to them for ever ; the Chinese bound 
to pay the expenses of the war and a compensation for the destroyed 
opium, and five of the principal Chinese ports were thrown open to foreign 
commerce. 



We have endeavoured to give an outline of the History of the World. 
Our limits have allowed but little space for general remarks. The subject itself 
is indeed replete with topics for reflection ; and every intelligent reader, as he 
peruses the narrative, will supply from his own mind the obvious moral which 
the great events and characters of history suggest. One thing which will pre- 
sent itself forcibly to the attentive reader, on a review of the whole narrative, 
is the retribution which follows the misdeeds of nations as well as individuals. 
He will perceive that national crimes are followed by national punishment ; 
that oppression produces revolt ; that tyranny prepares the means for its own 
downfall ; that war injures the conquering as well as the conquered ; and that 
the national prosperity which riots in crime is sooner or later succeeded by the 
bitter adversity which compels repentance. In short, the history of the world 
teaches that there is an Almighty Disposer of events, who administers even- 
handed justice among the children of men. " The Lord reigneth ; let the 
earth rejoice." 




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